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The choral music of Charles Villiers Stanford

(1852-1924 and the press c.1875-1925

Smith, Peter John

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c.1875-1925, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online:
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2
 THE CHORAL MUSIC OF

CHARLES VILLIERS STANFORD (1852-1924)

AND THE PRESS c.l875-1925

Thesis submitted by

PETER JOHN SMITH

for the degree of

MMus

in the University of Durham

June 2008
The copyright of this thesis rests with the
author or the university to which it was
submitted. No quotation from it, or
information derived from it may be
published without the prior written
consent of the author or university, and
any information derived from it should be
acknowledged.

0 8 'APR 2009
 Abstract

This detailed survey of Stanford's choral music is divided into two parts. Part One

outlines those influences in the composer's family background and career path that

encouraged him to produce so much music for c-hoirs, both sacred and secular, and

seeks to contextualise the British cultural environment in which he lived and worked.

The sight-singing movement of the 1840s and the rapid spread of choral singing, the

development of parish church choirs, choral societies and musical festivals, the slower

improvement of musical standards in cathedrals and college chapels, and the growth of

music publishing are each examined in turn, with frequent reference to Stanford

himself. A complete chapter is devoted to the rapid expansion of the press and the

steady evolution of musical journalism during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Part

Two contains a chronological examination of Stanford's choral output with particular

emphasis on the reception of individual works by critics and the general public, making

direct and extensive reference to critical articles in more than forty different newspapers

and journals. From this evidence attempts are made to identify the most and least

successful of the coniposer's choral works. A concluding chapter refers to the English

Musical Renaissance and Stanford's recognised status as one of its chief protagonists,

and also examines the concept of academicism (or 'cleverness') and its impact upon

critical appraisal of the composer's works, especially from Shaw and his disciples.

Three appendices provide statistical and factual information on Stanford's choral

output, and include some material not previously available in published writings on the

composer.
 11

Contents

Preface 1

Part One: Stanford and the Cultural Context

Ch. 1: Stanford and the English Choral Tradition in the Nineteenth Century 6

Ch. 2: The Press and Musical Criticism, c.1840- c.1925 45

Part Two: Stanford's Choral Music and the Press

Ch. 3: Stanford's Choral Music and the Press I: The Cambridge Years, 85
1870-1893

Ch. 4: Stanford's Choral Music and the Press II: Years at the Top ofHis 159
Profession, 1893-1910

Ch. 5: Stanford's Choral Music III: Years oflncreasing Neglect, 1911-1924 234

Conclusion 255

Appendix I: List of Press References to Stanford's Choral Music 272

(incorporated into accompanying database)

Appendix II: Chronological Lists of Stanford's Choral Works 311

Appendix III: List ofNewspapers and Journals with Details of Editors and
Music Critics 323

Bibliography 330

List of Illustrations

Illustration 1: Advertisement pages from The Musical Times, 1872-94 16

Illustration 2: Service lists from The Musical Standard, 31 January 1880 18

Illustration 3: Service lists from Musical News, 9 October 1897 19

Illustration 4: Service lists from Musical News, 24 October 1897 20

Illustration 5: C.V. Stanford and Edward Lloyd, from Musical Opinion,

1 November 1891 147

Illustration 6: Birmingham Festival, 1897- sketches from Daily Graphic 175

Illustration 7: Leeds Festival, 1901- sketch from Musical Opinion 201

 ll1

Illustration 8: Music reviews from Musical News, 11 May 1912 240

Illustration 9: Comparative table showing eighteen different interpretations of

the 'dark age' and 'renaissance' in English music 257

List of Tables

Table 1: Statistical comparison of new Novello publications, 1869-89 91

Table 2: Extracts from a cathedral music list survey, 1906-7 93

Press reception comparisons of new festival works by Stanford and others

(Tables 3 to 12):

Table 3: Stanford Elegiac Ode and 99

Mackenzie Rose ofSharon (Norwich 1884)

Table 4: Stanford The Three Holy Children and 114

Gounod Mors et Vita (Birmingham 1885)

Table 5: Stanford The Revenge and 124

Sullivan The Golden Legend (Leeds 1886)

Table 6: Stanford The Voyage of Mae/dune and 135

Parry St Cecilia Ode (Leeds 1889)

Table 7: Stanford Eden and 152

Dvorak Requiem (Birmingham 1891)

Table 8: Stanford Phaudrig Crohoore and 169

Mancinelli Hero and Leander (Norwich 1896)

Table 9: Stanford Requiem and 183

Somervell Ode to the Sea (Birmingham 1897)

Table 10: Stanford Te Deum and 195

Elgar Caractacus (Leeds 1898)

Table 11: Stanford Songs of the Sea and 208

Walford Davies Everyman (Leeds 1904)

Table 12: Stanford Stabat Mater and 220

Vaughan Williams Toward the Unknown Region (Leeds 1907)
 IV

Explanatory notes to Tables 3 - 12

(Festival works by Stanford and others, 1884-1907)

1. All works chosen were first performed at a major regional musical festival.

2. Each Stanford work has been set alongside another choral work first performed at the
same festival.

3. The content of each review consulted has been examined for any of five specific
features, which are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

4. Since the number of reviews available for perusal differs from one work to another,
the number of reviews actually consulted is given in every case.

5. For each festival date, the work chosen for comparison with Stanford's seemed the
most sensible or obvious choice from amongst the other new music performed at the
same festival. Although the paired works may differ in style, length and scope, they
were all being heard for the first time (thus sharing the fascination of the new), and will
have been reviewed by the same set of critics, thus ensuring a certain degree of critical
parity.

6. In every case, the number of Stanford reviews consulted exceeds the number
available for the paired work, sometimes by a considerable margin. This is, to a large
extent, unavoidable, since in the case of the Stanford works reviews of certain
performances subsequent to the festival premier (and especially first London
performances) have been included. Although these later reviews most often confirmed
initial impressions after the first performance, there were a few occasions when a critic
would modify his view somewhat. A small number of the later reviews might also
come from critics or papers that did not attend or review the first performance.

7. Of the chosen types of critical judgement, 'Wholly laudatory' and 'Laudatory with
reservations' are self-explanatory. 'Critical' is applied only where substantial negative
comment is found, though there are a few instances where pmise and criticism are
handed out almost evenly to different aspects or sections of a work. For this reason the
same review might register in both the 'Laudatory with reservations' and 'Critical'
columns.
'Comments on technique/cleverness' has been included because of the frequency with
which comments of this type crop up in reviews of Stanford's choral music: he was
clearly regarded by large numbers of musicians as the most technically skilled of
composers, and there are many observations on his choral works which include words
or phrases such as 'clever(ness)', 'masterly', 'scholarly', 'phenomenal fluency' or
'consummate workmanship'. Other composers also received occasional comments on
their sheer technical accomplishment. Such remarks were often made in a positive and
laudatory manner, but in Stanford's case his 'cleverness' was sometimes referred to in a
somewhat disparaging way - as though his technical skill hampered and impoverished
musical invention, originality and vitality.
Linked with this view of some Stanford works was a perceived lack of emotional
inyolveme11t --:- ey~n o( Ullerootional coldness - in othe music. Several commentators
remarked upon this on more than one occasion, though similar comments have not been
discovered with reference to any composers of the other works set alongside those of
Stanford in these comparisons.
 v

Abbreviations used in the text

Ath Athenaeum
BDG Birmingham Daily Gazette
BDM Birmingham Daily Mail
BDP Birmingham Daily Post
CamChr Cambridge Chronicle
CamDN Cambridge Daily News
CamRev Cambridge Review
Choir The Choir
ChMus Church Musician
ChT Church Times
ContRev Contemporary Review
CUMS Cambridge University Musical Society
DChr Daily Chronicle
DGr Daily Graphic
DN Daily News
DTel Daily Telegraph
Exam Examiner
FortRev Fortnightly Review
GBS George Bernard Shaw (in various journals: all references taken from
Shaw's Music, Bodley Head, 3 vols.)
Graph Graphic
Guard Guardian
Haz Hazell's Annual (all references taken from Lewis Foreman's
'Music in England 1885-1920')
LM Leeds Mercury
ManGuard Manchester Guardian
MusL Music and Letters
MMR Monthly Musical Record
MN Musical News
MO Musical Opinion
MP Morning Post
MS Musical Standard
MT Musical Times
MW Musical World
NatRev National Review
O&C Organist and Choirmaster
PMG Pall Mall Gazette
SatRev Saturday Review
Strand Strand Musical Magazine
T The Times
WestRev Westminster Review
Wo World
YM Year's Music
yp Yorkshire Post
 Vl

CDRom Database

An accompanying CDRom provides a database (created on Microsoft Access 2002)

duplicating Appendix I and also giving a sample list of 240 general articles concerning
British music and musicians c.1880-1925. Over 60 of these articles are by or contain
definite references to Stanford, and the remainder concern subjects or musicians of
some relevance to Stanford's own musical career.
 1

Preface

This detailed study of the choral music of Charles Villiers Stanford and its reception in

the press covers a period of approximately fifty years, from the public appearance of the

composer's first significant choral piece in 1875 to performances and publications ofhis

choral music around and just after the time of his death in 1924.

The study is divided into two parts. Part One (chapters 1 and 2) examines the social

and cultural climate forming the background to Stanford's choral music, while Part Two

(chapters 3 to 5) examines the choral works themselves.

Part One, chapter one begins with a brief examination of the elements in Stanford's

family background, upbringing and subsequent career that encouraged his production of

such a large body of choral music, both sacred and secular (constituting over half of his

huge total output). Consideration is next given to those social and cultural developments

in Victorian England that fostered and encouraged an ever-increasing demand for and

consumption of new choral music. A brief summary of the sight-singing movement -

perhaps the most fundamentally important innovation for the growth of choral music -

leads natUrally to an investigation of the reform and growth of music in parish churches,

and the consequently ever-escalating demand for new anthems and service settings. A

section on the rapid proliferation of choral societies and musical festivals (the latter

dealt with in chronological order of foundation) incorporates titles of some of the

significant new works commissioned by festival committees, and gives some indication

of works performed alongside those of Stanford. The growth of music publishing and

the production of cheap choral music are examined with particular reference to those

firms that published works by Stanford. Finally, a brief examination of the condition of

/::. !,·,
I -;-- i \
l --
\ ·, /
 2

cathedral and collegiate musical establishments during the Victorian and Edwardian

eras attempts to give a background to the conditions in which Stanford found himself

working for twenty years at Trinity College, Cambridge, together with a reminder that,

for some time during the mid-Victorian years, musical progress and rising standards in

ordinary churches far outstripped that in cathedrals and college chapels.

The second chapter of Part One focuses on the development of the English press and

of music criticism in particular during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and

attempts to give some background information on most, if not all of the papers and

journals referred to in Part Two of this study. Significant daily and weekly newspapers

- both London-based and, to a lesser extent, from those major provincial cities closely

connected with significant Stanford performances - are represented alongside those

weekly and monthly arts and musical journals, and one or two church newspapers,

which have proved to have some significance in their coverage of Stanford's choral

music. A substantial section dealing with the development of musical criticism attempts

to identify some of the principal figures whose writings on Stanford are examined more

closely in the second part of this study, providing some basic information concerning

their careers, styles and musical preferences.

Part Two of the study explores Stanford's large output of choral music and its

reception in the press. It has been found convenient to survey the works

chronologically, and to divide the composer's productive working life into three

sections: the years of rising fortune and reputation spent living and working in

Cambridge (chapter 3); a 'middle period' during which the composer was at the height

of his powers and much in demand (chapter 4 ); and the fmal years, following his

resignation from the Leeds conductorships and his gradual decline in the public eye

(chapterS). A collection of just over 1600 press references to Stanford's choral works

(including some advertisements) taken from over forty newspapers and journals is
 3

provided with a system of classification from 1 - 5, adopted in both Appendix I (a

complete list of all the references) and the accompanying database, indicating the

degree of critical content (and, to a lesser extent, the approximate length) of each

individual reference. Press references bearing no classification number contain no

element of critical content, but can nevertheless be useful in identifying the performance

or publication of a work.

It is to be expected that new works should receive the greatest quantity of critical

attention upon their first appearance, either in print or in public performance.

Consequently, particular attention is given to reviews of first performances, and of

subsequent performances occurring within the first few months of a premier. It is

evident that not all London-based newspapers reviewed first performances in the

provinces, but would often compensate in full measure by reviewing at length a

subsequent performance in the capital. Press references to performances of works

further removed from their initial appearance tend to be less frequent and detailed,

sometimes merely giving notice that a performance has taken place, but on other

occasions giving voice to noteworthy comments upon content or style, however brief.

Such comments can enhance our total view of the continuing fortunes of particular

works.

Although the major daily newspapers did occasionally analyse or review a newly

published score in the days immediately before a first performance, the overwhelming

majority of reviews of printed scores are to be found in the musical journals,

supplemented by certain weekly newspapers and arts journals such as the Athenaeum.

The search for review material has embraced most of the chief London-based daily

newspapers, several prominent weekly newspapers and arts journals, and those musical

journals whose bias favoured choral music. A search through several church

newspapers has revealed The Guardian as the only significant and regular source of
 4

senous mustc reviewing during the relevant period. For reasons of manageability,

provincial newspaper reviews have been sought only for performances in their own

locality.

During the course of chapters 3 to 5 an attempt is made to identify the most and

least successful of the choral works belonging to the early, middle and late phases of

Stanford's career, both in terms of their initial reception and of their continuing

popularity or disappearance from public view, and possible reasons for the varying

fortunes of different works are briefly examined. In an attempt to widen the context,

press reactions to ten of Stanford's most significant choral works, all first performed at

regional musical festivals, have been set alongside the reactions to choral works by

other composers premiered at the same time, and a series of bar charts provides

interesting comparisons from which some tentative conclusions may be drawn.

The final chapter not only draws general conclusions, but also suggests reasons for

the much smaller number of reviews of printed scores in comparison with the huge

number of concert notices, and includes a brief reference to the often-quoted slur 'Das

Land ohne Musik', its effective rebuttal in many writings on music published from the

1880s onwards, and Stanford's recognised status as one of the leaders of an English

Musical Renaissance. An examination is also made of the concept of 'cleverness' that

crops up with some frequency during the critical appraisal of Stanford's music.

The three appendices at the conclusion of the thesis provide a complete list of the

press references to Stanford's choral music collected for this study, together with a full,

though not completely exhaustive list of his choral works, and as complete a list as

could be constructed of music critics and the papers or journals for which they wrote.

Taken together, these appendices include some material not previously available in any

earlier published study of Stanford's music.

 Part One

Stanford and the Cuntural Context

 6

Chapter One

Stanford and the English Choral Tradition in the Nineteenth Century

This study of Stanford's choral music and its treatment in the press begins with a brief

survey of a rapidly changing social and cultural background in Victorian England. First

and foremost comes an enquiry into Stanford's motivation for producing such an

enormous quantity of choral music. There follows an investigation of various

developments in English society of the period which created an ever-increasing supply

of choral singers and a consequent escalation in the demand for new choral music. The

critically important (though idiosyncratic and surprising) sight-singing movement, and

the growth of parish church choirs, choral societies and musical festivals are outlined, as

is the development and growth of music publishing. The chapter concludes with a short

section on the more leisurely improvement of musical standards in cathedral and

collegiate establishments - a sphere in which Stanford himself worked for two decades.

Charles Villiers Stanford: family background and musical influences

The only child of musically highly gifted parents, Charles Villiers Stanford

unsurprisingly displayed considerable musical talent from an early age. From his

earliest childhood, the boy was surrounded, both in the Stanford family home and

further afield in his native Dublin, by musicians and music of various kinds. 1 Amongst

these early influences were those of music in church. As staunch Irish protestants, the

Stanfords regularly attended their local parish church of St Stephen. The state of the

music here during Charles's formative years he does not record, though reference is

1
Such first-hand biographical information as exists about Stanford's early life and musical influences is
to be found chiefly in-two soi.rrces: Stanford's own autobiogniphical Pages .fror,t;;~ un;~itte~ Diary,
Arnold, London 1914, and the account, gathered partly from personal contact and partly from others
(including Stanford's boyhood friend, Raoul de Versan) by Stanford's close friend, musical colleague and
first biographer, the baritone Harry Plunket Greene in Charles Villiers Stanford, Arnold, London 1935.
 7

made to a row created by the attempted (and wholly practical) removal of the church

choir from its western gallery to a position in the chancel next to the organ. The family

also attended, however - apparently on a fairly regular basis - services at one or other

of the city's two Anglican cathedrals, where the music made a considerable impact on

the young Charles. 2 Despite there being no evidence that he ever sang in a church choir

as a child, the choral music in these two establishments clearly interested him deeply,

and he was, in time, to benefit greatly from the musical expertise and wisdom of Robert

Prescott Stewart, principal organist of both cathedrals. 3 Stewart took Charles under his

wing, teaching him to play the organ, and showing him, by example, how to use the

instrument in a colourful and orchestral manner, a style of playing which greatly

influenced the pupil's own vivid manner of accompanying psalms and the orchestral

conception behind many of his written organ parts to anthems and services. 4

Another significant mentor in these early years was the gifted singer and conductor

Joseph Robinson, a close friend and singing partner of John Stanford, and a man of

whose musical gifts (like those of Stewart) Charles later speaks with warmth and

affection. From Stewart and Robinson Stanford learned a great deal about singing,

conducting, organ playing, composition and orchestration. The sheer breadth of his

early musical experience was striking, and encompassed most genres including opera.

Perhaps the one type of music in short supply in Dublin during the 1850s and 60s was

the orchestral concert (for want of sufficient good players), but trips to England from

Stanford's tenth year onwards began to repair this deficiency. Thus by the time, in the

spring of 1870, that Charles Stanford informed his father of his determination to be a

2
Stanford, Pages, 3, 36-51.
3
Greene, Stanford, 29, states unequivocally that Charles 'had not his father's magnificent physique, nor
could his greatest admirers have claimed him as a singer'. This m'*e1' all t~e mory ~urpri~ingth~_ clai~s
by "soniemore recent Wt-iter5 that he later entered Queen's Coflege, Cambridge as a choral scholar, when
Stanford himself states quite clearly that he was awarded the organ scholarship at the college (Pages,
106-7).
4
Stanford, Pages, 45-51, 131.
 8

professional musician,5 his musical interests embraced all genres - orchestral and

chamber music every bit as much as vocal and choral, and with a particular enthusiasm

for opera. From this breadth of musical scope and interest sprang his innovatory

approach to church music, and in particular the use of symphonic structures in his

settings of the Anglican liturgy.

Stanford's election as organ scholar of Queen's College, Cambridge (1870), and

three years later as organist of Trinity College (a post he was to occupy for twenty

years) involved regular contact with church choirs, and encouraged his production of

service settings, anthems and motets during a period of more than two decades. His

resignation from the Trinity organistship and move to London (1892/3), ended for good

Stanford's professional connection with the Anglican Church, and for a decade or more

he produced hardly any liturgical music. 6 The fact that, in later life, Stanford was once

again motivated to compose for the church was the result of two main factors: firstly,

his support for the newly-established music publisher Stainer and Bell, which needed to

build up a catalogue of modem church music, and secondly, from increasing personal

financial need, as other sources of income declined.

At Cambridge, another of Stanford's self-appointed tasks was to rejuvenate the

Cambridge University Musical Society (CUMS) -a process which involved broadening

the scope of its chorus by the inclusion of women. This in tum encouraged his

production of new works for the re-constituted chorus to sing, and his settings of

Klopstock's Die Auferstehung (1875) and of God is our hope and strength (Psalm 46)

(1877) were amongst his early successes.

As time progressed, Stanford felt ever more drawn to the wider world of music,

beyond the confmes of a provincial university town. His appointment as Professor of

5
Ibid., 103.
6
The sole exception to this abstention appears to be his completion, in the mid-1890s, ofthe Service in
A, Op.l2, in response to persistent requests from Novello.
 9

Composition at the newly founded Royal College of Music in 1883 brought him to

London on a regular basis, and it was not long before he was given the opening awaited

by all seriously-intentioned English composers of his time in the shape of opportunities

to compose for the provincial musical festivals. These festivals, which will be studied

in greater depth presently, centred on works for chorus and orchestra, and a certain

number of new works would be sought for each of them from established composers

and newcomers alike. It was therefore almost inevitable that Stanford should seek and

gain wider recognition through his provision of music for these prestigious and much-

reported events, and it was his series of choral works in the 1880s and 1890s which did

so much to secure and seal his reputation as one of the most significant and gifted

musicians of his generation, although, as will be seen in later chapters, his various

cantatas, ballads and oratorios were frequently criticised for being more cerebral than

heartfelt. Kevin O'Connell has recently suggested, however, that it is only through a

proper understanding of Stanford as teacher, theorist and (by implication) technician

that we can gain a full understanding of him as a composer. 7

The part-song was another popular vocal medium in Stanford's day, and a form

which he cultivated with some degree of popular success throughout his career, a small

handful of examples retaining their popularity long after the composer's death. 8

Stanford's success as a teacher of composition was to become, in one sense, a cause

of his gradually declining reputation as a composer after 1900: as the first generation of

his pupils reached maturity and struck out along their own paths, with fresh ideas and

modes of expression, their music began to receive greater public and critical attention

than that oftheir revered teacher. The First World War furthermore acted as a catalyst

in artistic matters as much as in other spheres of life, and Stanford's final years were

7
'Stanford and the Gods of Modem Music', MT, Spring 2005, 33-44.
8
Three or four of the early Elizabethan Pastorals, together with later examples such as The Blue Bird
and Chillingham proved especially popular with small choirs and vocal ensembles.
 10

spent in an atmosphere of changing tastes and values to which he was unable to adapt.

Thus it was that some of Stanford's final choral works lay unperformed and neglected,

while the musical world moved on.

Developments in education: the sight-singing movement and the growth of choral

singing

Preaching in St Paul's Cathedral soon after the death of William IV in 1837, that

amiable and eccentric cleric, the Reverend Sydney Smith, author of many a bon mot,

recommended that the new Queen 'should bend her mind to the very serious

consideration of educating the people', since it presented 'the best chance of national

improvement' .9 The Reverend Canon was doubtless quite sincere in this statement of

belief, but it is tempting to think that it was, at least in part, influenced by current events

- specifically the rise of the Chartist Movement: a uniting force for the labouring

classes to clamour for better living and working conditions. 10 That England, alone

among the leading European nations of the period, escaped revolution or violent

political unrest on several occasions between the 1790s and 1870s was no accident, but

the result of pre-emptive measures by government to prevent revolution by the

disenfranchised. The gradual introduction of improvements in the education system and

its availability to a larger proportion of the population, especially the poorer classes,

was seen as a positive way forward which could eventually lessen causes of discontent.

In terms of general schooling, such improvements took several decades to achieve,

culminating in the 1870 Education Act which made elementary schooling compulsory

for all. 11 Within the first decade of Victorian rule, however, came an innovation which

9
Sydney Smith, The New Reign: the Duties ofQueen Victoria, 2"d ed., 1837, cited mE.D. Mackemess, A
Social History of English Music, Routledge, London 1964, 153.
10
A.N. Wilson, The Victorians, Hutchinson, London 2002, 34-47.
II Ibid., I 13-20, 273-94, 363-4.
 11

would prove of almost immediate and long-lasting benefit to thousands of working-

class people throughout the country.

Amongst the earliest educational reforms came a provision for the widespread

tuition of singing within schools. 12 As Bemarr Rainbow has pointed out elsewhere:

That the government of this country early in Victoria's reign should have taken the improbable step of
lending its support to popular instruction in vocal music would perhaps appear merely eccentric, unless
one realised that the activity formed an integral part of a larger scheme to develop education upon a
national scale. 13

This provision was, moreover, supplemented by evening classes in singing for adults,

run in various parts of the country by John Hullah and Joseph Mainzer. To the

stupendously successful efforts of these two men must be added the work of John

Curwen, whose major contribution to the sight-singing movement was the perfection of

the tonic sol-fa system of notation. 14 Success came rapidly, and by July 1842 a

statement in the House of Lords revealed that there were 'no fewer than 50,000 persons

attending the singing classes of Mr. Hullah and his pupils' . 15

The enormous scale of success of the massed-singing movement begun in the 1840s

is demonstrated by the steady improvement and development of singing in churches,

from both congregations and choirs, and by the foundation of numerous choral

societies, both of these activities being evident in all parts ofthe country.

A third development affected in no small measure by the ever-increasing demand

for choral music was the foundation of several provincial choral festivals, often held on

a triennial basis.

12
Bemarr Rainbow, 'Music in Education', Blackwell History ofMusic in Britain, vol.5, 'The Romantic
Age, 1800-1914' (ed. Nicholas Temperley), Blackwell, Oxford 1988,40.
13
Bemarr Rainbow, The Choral Revival in the Anglican Church, 1839-1872, Oxford University Press,
Oxford 1970; reissued by Boydell Press, Woodbridge, 2001,43.
D~tailed ~c.co~ts 9f the. deve(opn:u~nt oft~e sight~si.ngirtg movement and of the work of Hullah,
14

Mainzer and Cun.Ven may be found in Rainbow, The Choral Revival; Frances Hullah, Life ofJohn
Hullah, Longmans, Green & Co., London 1886; Johann Mainzer, Singing/or the Million (1841), reprint
bl Boethius Press, Kilkenny, ed. with introduction by Bemarr Rainbow, 1984.
1
Frances Hullah, John Hullah, 35.
 12

An eloquent testament to the extraordinary results of the massed choral singing

movement in England comes from an unexpected American source, quoted with some

pride in an untitled column (probably by the editor) in The Musical Times for October

1884:

In "Notes on the Cultivation of Choral Music and the Oratorio Society ofNew York," by H.E. Krebiel, a
volume recently published in the States, the author says that "one hundred and fourteen years ago there
was not in all musical Europe a single amateur Choral Society, and only ninety six years ago was the first
public singing society (composed of amateurs) established. What the cultivation of Handel's music in
England has done for that country is not to be measured; and the fact that in the manufacturing towns of
Great Britain thousands of men and women might be assembled on a day's notice to sing 'The Messiah'
without the notes, tells more of the gentleness and refinement of the working classes in that country than
hundreds of learned essays on social science." This warm tribute to the state of musical progress in
England is supplemented by the observations of the critic of the work in an American paper, who says,
"Here is something which the writer can vouch for, as he has been present at many such meetings, and
knows by actual sight that this is so. Miners and workmen of all sorts, who can neither read nor write, are
able to take the bass or tenor (and sometimes the alto) part in 'The Messiah,' 'Elijah,' 'Samson,' 'The
Creation,' and this with an accuracy of intonation and time (aside from vigour and fervency) that is truly
astonishing, considering their general ignorance in other matters. This is a phenomenon, of course, but it
has tended to make England especially famous for its choral singing." As both the author and reviewer of
this book fully agree in the rapid spread of choral music, we have much pleasure in recording the fact,
especially as in this, the sooth number of our journal, we may be pardoned for looking back through a
number of years with a feeling of pride at the part we have ever taken in popular musical progress. 16

Of the vital role played by The Musical Times and its publisher Novello in the

provision of choral music at affordable prices more will be said in due course.

The reform and growth of music in parish churches

Between the 1840s and the end of the nineteenth century there were huge developments

and improvements in the provision of music in Anglican churches, accompanied by a

consequent demand for a steady stream of new musical compositions for use by choirs

and congregations ~ a demand for which Charles Villiers Stanford was, from the late

1870s until well into the next century, to provide a considerable quantity of high quality

music. Tracing these developments in fine detail is a huge and complex task which, for

reasons of space, cannot be undertaken in the present study. The subject has, however,

16
Mf, October 1884, 577.
 13

17
been investigated with some thoroughness by at least four authors: Bemarr Rainbow,

William Gatens, Dale Adelmann, and, most extensively of all, in Nicholas Temperley's

two-volume study which, unlike other books, concentrates on the music of the parish
18
church rather than the musical traditions of cathedrals and college chapels. Only the

briefest of summaries can be given here.

In contrast to the elaborate music performed by professional choirs in cathedral and

collegiate establishments, the music found in the parish churches of England was, until

well into the nineteenth century, notable mainly for its simplicity. 19

By the early years of the nineteenth century it was, moreover, becoming

increasingly apparent that the general state of parish church music left much to be

desired, and in many places the status afforded to music was also ill-defined and

unsatisfactory. When reform came, it was often swift and dramatic, and was brought

about not only by individuals with a strong desire to provide their churches with more

edifying and seemly standards of music, but also, during the 1830s and early 1840s, by

the chance coincidence and confluence of various initiatives and developments on a

broader, national scale.

Of these national initiatives, the government-sponsored developments in education,

and, most particularly, the singing-class movement, were of considerable significance?0

Another crucial factor - some might argue the most crucial - in the reform of Anglican

church music and the wholesale establishment of robed church choirs, was the so-called

'Oxford Movement' -a sea-change of thinking amongst high-church Anglicans. Are-

awakened consciousness of the Anglican Church's ancient roots combined with

17
Bemarr Rainbow, Choral Revival, and 'Parochial and Nonconformist Church Music', Blackwell
History, vol.5 (ed. Temperley), 144-67.
18
William Gatens, Victorian Cathedral Music in Theory and Practice, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge 19&6; Dale Adelmann, The Contribution ofCambridge Ecclesiologists toth~Reviva{of
Anglican Choral Worship 1839-62, Ashgate, Aldershot 1997; Nicholas Temperley, The Music of the
English Parish Church, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1979.
19
Temperley, Music of the English Parish Church, 5, 97, 101-2, 112, 117, etc.
20
Rainbow, Choral Revival, 48-9.
 14

forebodings for its future led to the production of a series of Tracts for the Times -

papers which urged a reform of liturgical practice and a return to the original spirit and

letter ofthe Prayer Book.21 The spread ofTractarian zeal amongst the clergy combined

with the effects of the singing-class movement and teacher-training initiatives amongst

the ordinary people to produce an overwhelming desire for church services enshrining

well-conducted liturgy, ritual and music. 22 It was not long before organisations were

formed with the specific intention of promoting high quality church music, notably the

Musical Antiquarian Society (1840-7, later the Motett Society), and the Society for

Promoting Church Music with its journal, the Parish Choir (1846-51). 23

Despite friction between High and Low Church factions in the early years of reform,

matters had largely calmed down by the mid-1850s, and, as Temperley has pointed out,

despite occasional disagreements over the role of music in worship, all parties agreed

that it had its place there, and robed choirs sitting in chancels became ever more

common in Anglican churches, urban and rural, throughout the land. This proliferation

of choirs was further encouraged by the early- and mid-Victorian passion for building

new churches, particularly in urban areas. 24

There was, naturally, a good deal of diversity in the nature of parish church music,

ranging from those institutions such as St Andrew's, Wells Street, London (under

organist Joseph Barnby) and Leeds Parish Church (under S.S. Wesley) where the

services were very much in the cathedral tradition, with the congregation treated largely

21
Rainbow, Choral Revival, 7-8.
22
The spread ofTractarian initiatives in Cambridge is fully documented in Adelmann, Cambridge
Ecclesiologists, and similar developments in London are described in Rainbow, Chora/Re'Vival. ·
23
See Adelmann, Cambridge Ecc/esiologists, 31-4, 43-6; Rainbow, Choral Revival, 64-5, 95-114, and
'Parochial and Nonconformist Church Music', 147-8; Temperley, Music ofthe English Parish Church,
258-60; Gatens, Victorian Cathedral Music, 25-6.
24
See Temperley, Music of the English Parish Church, 281-2, 233-4; Rainbow, Choral Revival, 263-6.
 15

as auditors, to those where there was no choir and the smgmg was exclusively

.
congregatlona1.25

By the end ofthe 1870s almost all churches had a choir of some kind, however, and

in many places the music was of a professional standard. Evidence of this appears

increasingly in the advertisement pages of the Musical Times, which carried an ever-

expanding list of vacancies for church choristers - boys, men and women - some paid,

others not. Illustration 1 shows a random selection of these.

By the middle years of the century, many church choirs began to give occasional

concerts in addition to their Sunday service duties, giving further profitable

opportunities for the comparison and evaluation of choral standards and repertoire. 26

There can be little doubt, however, that the evolution, from the mid-1850s, of the

diocesan or regional choral festival was the development which, by enabling many

church choirs in a particular area to meet, rehearse and sing together, generally in the

diocesan cathedral, helped to reinforce the enthusiasm of individual choirs and to

disseminate high standards in the choice and performance of Anglican church music. 27

At the end of a lengthy chapter entitled 'The Victorian Settlement (1850-1900)',

Temperley draws the following conclusions:

... the rivalries between high- and low-church parties, and between supporters of Anglican and Gregorian
chants, are seen to be a side issue in the parish church music of the Victorian period.... Organs and
choirs were established in almost every church, and provided music that was emphatically of the
professional variety. Efforts were made, sometimes genuine, sometimes perfunctory, to draw the
congregation into the performance, and the music was composed or adapted in such a way that the
congregational singing would not detract from the artistic standards now to be maintained. But in many
churches the music was in reality a performance by robed choir and organ in the chancel. The cathedral
service was the principal model for the new style of parish church music ... 28

25
See Temperley, Music ofthe English Parish Church, 274-5.
26
The growing number of musical journals at this time, and especially those such as MT, MS and MN
with a strong interest in church music, reported dozens of choral concerts and special choral services in
everyissue. WaltercHillsman's Traits and Aims in Anglican Church Music 1870-1906, unpublished
Oxford DPhil Thesis, 1985, 58 refers to the anxieties of some High Church clergy over the introduction of
elaborate music, and their justifications of it.
27
Adelmann, Cambridge Ecclesiologists, 205-11.
28
Temperley, Music of the English Parish Church, 314.
 -:-~>~:. ~·,.
"TH:E MU~Ualli 'T!M:Es.-JUHB 1, 1.872. JUNE r,· r879·

· - - ..
··~;~;;.. .. --- ·- ····.-:.···.- ..

~- ST. ANNE'S, SOHO, Westminster.-Th~ a_re VOICE.-I,.EADING BOY WANTED, j

Vacancies "tn lh6 Vobmbry Choir of lhe ilbove Chun:h, for a
_ .;__:r.ENO.R.and..l!A.SS-....!...gl>o.d :voice and ti!P~HII D!l.~WI~o
T RE8LE
afor West.- End Cbureh Choir. Salary, [ro. Apply to the Rev. ,
j
R. W.llurnaby, ~7. Blandford Square, Regent's Parlo.
are indispensable. Appllcaltans abonld be DWie by letter to tbe Oboir
·Secretary, A. 0. OurUa-lll!yward, Esq.; 17, ~Grosvenor-
square- .... . _ _
. HESTER
C CATHEDRAL.-LAY CLERKSHIP,
vacant. l75· ALTO voice... Candidates, who must be under I
• • • The duties of this ebolr (a~ono, numbering nearly atxty
voices) ar-e to attend MomiD.g and • Se:rrice on Sunda.ys. and a :: J'ne::~o!b!'it~v~:h:pl:~r::. h~t~ ~~!t~~bould apply j
Rehearsal on Thnrsdat eveninp u elgbt o"clock, oondlldlod by Mr.
Bamby, Director of lhe Choir.
CHORISTER BOYS for Eton College ChapeL- :;_';_·. ANiD ALTO (Male)
·- .. . ley Road, New Cross, S.E.
requires an ENGAGEMENTi
Charcb Choir. Address, with particulars, to H. E., n6, Brock-~
1
TWO or THREE are W Al'ITED, to fill -.acancioa. Salary from
.£21! to MO per annam, according to proficiency, and edacatlon free in t;:::W. ANT.ED, for Volttntar)r Surpliced Choir,!
the cbomtera' schooL Duties, daily service. Appllcatloos to be made
to Dr. Maclem, l!:ton Collage, Wmdsor. This advertlsementapplles only
t<> !rained cboriatera. · ·
· --:. . S. Peter's, Great Windmill Street, .ALTOS, TENORS, and !
':. :·' BASSES. Apply, Rev. A. Mozley, r~ 1 Archer Street, Haymarket,
\.::,:· W ...-or at the Church, Wednesday evemng, nine o'cloclc.
I
LEAD~G SOPRANO REQUIRED for a Church f_:?c;--'A-L TO WANTED, for St. Margaret's, Lee. Must,.
near Nolting~-gate ri&tlon. Morning and evening service, and .::.:·:=··:. ~ possess a good Voice and be a good Reader. Duties: ~o
weekly rehearsal. SUpend not to exceed Slli or £20. Apply by letter, .:Oi;: SUildsy services and Saint:&'-days at 8 p.m. Practice on Friday evenmg.,
st&ting- tull partleulara, to Conductor, care of Mesan. Novello, Ewer ~~c· .. · Sa!acy, [2o. Address, Mr. G. F. Geausscnt, 6, Park Place, Blackheath.
a.nd Co., 1. Bernars-skeet. W~
~'t'c- ALTO W AN'~ED, for ~hrist Chu~h, Lee Park.,
-
ST. LAWRENCE, JEWRY.~WANT.ED, FOUR
LEA1JING TREBLES for tbLo Choir. MQ.ft read fairly. Ser-
vices-StUlda.y, morning lllld evening, Holy Da.ya, and Tb'QJ'sd.a.ys i
Pr~ct!ces.on Frlda.y evenings. RamUDarat!on £6 a year. Ap~pa--
sonally at the Ohnrch, or by letter to the Cholri:II.Uter, ·Bo · A.
-.-·ec . Sttpend, u gmneas. J. T. Fu:ld, 3, Essex Villas, Lee, S.E.
':··J.:A.__LTO and TENOR WANTED, for All Saints',
~~ 0 ~ ' : -Biackheath. Salary, £m and £rs respectively. Apply, by
. '.-· 1ettt.r, to A. Goddard Jonea, 3o Talbot Pliuie, Bl.ackbeath, S.E.
I
Tamer, .Esq., 9, Euex-..nlaa, East Down-park, Leo, S.E. ·
~:~~TENOR and BASS WANTED, .for the Choir of
AN experienced SOPRANO would lead a. Choir in
retnrn for Hatmanlllin Practice. A- B~ liSS, King's-rd;, Chelsea.
,_:-c. .-
tb· Bedford Chapel, BlooJI\Sbtuy.
:...- , e Vesby, on Friday ev.e.o.ings. at 7·
bo. Apply to Dr. Bradford, at

ALTO ~OYS WANTED at St. Mary's, Park-street, ~§::, TEN.OR VOICES.-:Two required for St. Germ~n's
Grosvenor-squara. Salary £5. Two service&. Apply to Organlat. ~~"·.. . . Chnrcb, Blackheath. Semi-cboral. Salary, £xs, to g~ad readers.
aitar morning seJ:rice.. · ·._:;,,·;·:·Apply; by letter, to Organist, ·Tunior Garrick Club, Adelphi, W.C:; or
·-~'.'": ~ peqona.lly at the ChurCh. on_'liri.days. between 8 and 9-30 p.m.
ALTO a.nd TENOR WANTED for the Choir of a
West End Chnrcb. Stipend from Ten to Ttrelve Pannds per
annlliil. Apply to A. z~ 18, Springlield-road, St. John'o-wood.
~~r~T~;tOR WANTED, S. Paul's, Herne Hill, S.?.
6~::·-0~~~ N~~o~~·. Ad~ress, a_.~?.~· Camden T~ce, Gypsy Hill,
ALTO and BASS WANTED at St. Mary's, Alder- ;;~~~~~----
maul>nry. l'llorlling and evening Senice, and weekly Practice.
Stipend, Alto £8, andBaas£Speranunm. A few BOYS also WANTED,
from £2 to £3 per annum. Apply to the Rev. 0. L. OolllnB.
-
wANTED G~ (AltOS, Tenors, :Bn2ses)
.. ~ •lug in lhe <lholr of St. Thomas's Clmreh, Stamford-bill.
No stipend Is offered, bnt tmvelllng expenses to and from tbe Church
will be paid npon nUA>CCOSlons o~ala.and.mll::ri The r.ehearaals
.. will ba once a week • tbe servlees twice on Snndays. A,lJI>Ucaltmul to be
"made to Mi-: ~g. ll,llaiitigae::PJace;"Raiiiill-oi[lili:ie;lmil& whOse
clliectlon tha cboir Ia placed. · ·
WAN~D..! with good· voice and
WANTED, for the VOLUNTARY CHOIR of St.
Mary's Orown-aireei, Sobo, .ALTO, TimOR, and BASS Volcas;
S OLO. BOY
expenence, for St. Georges, .:.Ioomslntty. Sabry accordiug to
abilitY. Apply, Mr. Gilford-Allen, 36, Pepys Road, S.E.
also BOYS lOf poor parentage), Uving- in tba neighbourhood. Salary
for these £2 per annum, and, If desired, edncalian in lheP&riabBebciol.
Addresa tbo Przcentor, St. Mary's, Sobo, W.O. W ANTED; for Church. Choir, FOUR BOYS.
Salary according to abllicy. Apply, Berkeley Chapel, ]obn
Street, Mayfair, W., Friday OYellings, at 7·30- .
CHURCH of ST. JOHN the DIVINE, Kennington,
S.W.-The Volnntary Choir for tba Permanent Chmeb (to be
opened, D. V., early n - year) Is now fo~ Oommnnlconts pos-
s.. sing BASS, TENOB, or A:IJrO VoiCOll, an wllllag to a.ssfst, are
A LTO W;ANTED, for Church on South Coast.
Young vou:e prdmTed. Two Cathednl services on Sandays &od '
one weekly practice. SDDdsy trial allowed. Apply, Alfred Bnckoke
requested to apply to tba Bev. tbe Prmcentnr, 10, Winte:nlcnr-plaee, : s, Dresden Road, Homsey Lane, N. ' .
v...all-road, s. w. :Music from lhe grand works of Handel, Mosart,
Haydn, Beetbcmm, - . .A.ttendance u least u no Services on San-
days, and tbe Pracltce on Friday nlgbts, is expected. A LTO and TENOR WANTED, for St. Paul's,
.• Kilh~ N.~. Salary, £xs-per aDDum. Good readers. Apply,
A_ TENOR, good Voic~ arid fair Reader, wishes to
join a Vninntary Sarpllced Obolr, for Sunday momlng and even-
stating qaalliications, Mr. Leonard Butler, r39A, Alezandra Road
Abbey Road, N.W. . '
ing fall Choral &nice. Addreas Phalou, Messrs Novallo, Ewer and
TENOR WANTED, for Solo and Quartet work, i
Oo~ SS, Ponltry, B.C.

BASS Voice WANTED

,
immediately in Salisbury
at St. George's, Bloomshary. Apply, Mr. Gilford·Allen, 36, Pepya
~d,S£.
I:
Cs.thedral for the n - two months. Liberal salary. May lead
to s. pllll!UUlent engs.gement. ~tlngpart!c~ as to ~acter
and mnslcala.billty,_to lhe Rev. Laar, Blshopatone, &llabury.
T ENOR WANTED, for Christ Chprch, Victoria!
.Rnad, Kensington. Two Sunday Services, and Friday Rehearsal ·
- -·-· - ·- - - .. at 8. "Stipend, {;ao. Applicatiana to he aent to Mr. E. Broolm, 4", '
Fawe Road, West KeJislngtoa, aot Iater then May u. .

H EREFORD CATHEDRAL.-WANTED, LAY

CLERK, with superior TENOR Voice .af good qualicy and
compass. tboronghly acqaainted with cbarcb mnslc (old and new), and
.~O.IPpeteot to sing aoloa and.takc..paa In Cboir SONices: Stipend,
[IOO per annum. For further partic:ulars, apply to Mr. E. M.
0 aderirood, Chapter Cleric, Hueford.

B ASS (not Baritone), PARIS.-There is a

VACANCY for a BASS Voice in the Choir of the American
Church, Paris. Candidates mnst ha"" good voices, a.nd thorough
erperience in Church music. Liberal stipend. Applica:tions at ouce
to Mr. Stedman, Mwrical Ageucy, sll, Bernert~ Street, W. '
MR. W. ' BLACKWELL (Alto) desires RE.
ENGA,GEMENT iD gnod Charcb Cboir, or would join
Quartet Party. Address, Chnrch Lane, Hendon, N.W.

Illustration 1: Advertisement pages from The Musical Times showing the demand for
Choristers of all ages and both sexes in church choirs
 17

Further evidence of the sophisticated level of much Anglican church mustc ts

provided by the increasing number of churches, especially in London, that chose to

advertise their Sunday music programmes week by week, alongside those of cathedrals,

in various journals, including The Musical Standard and Musical News, both of which

appeared each Saturday, and carried details of music for services the following day.

Three sample 'Service List' columns of particular interest in connection with Stanford's

music are reproduced as Illustrations 2, 3 and 4?9

The proliferation of church choirs was accompanied by a parallel expansion and

evolution of musical repertoire. During the 1840s, 50s and early 60s, when the

influence of the Tractarians and Ecclesiologists rose to its peak, there was much revival

of and emphasis on the church music of earlier centuries, particularly pieces deemed to

be in a 'dignified' and 'restrained' style (which assumed the absence of vocal solos),

and of Gregorian plainsong. 30 The steady increase in the provision of organs in

churches brought with it a change in musical tastes, however, and led to the introduction

of many more accompanied anthems and service settings. Choruses and solos from

oratorios by Handel and Haydn were adapted for performance in services with organ

accompaniment, soon to be joined by numerous compositions of Mendelssohn, Spohr

and Gounod. At the same time, a steadily increasing number of Victorian musicians -

not merely those working within the Church as organists and choir-trainers, but also

many outside it - felt it a worthy occupation to compose music for use in cathedrals and

parish churches alike.

29
Illustration 2, from MS, 31 January 1880, shows a performance of Stanford's complete B flat service,
published only the previous summer, at St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin- the city of the composer's birth.
This is possibly the second complete performance outside Cambridge- a performance at St Paul's
Cathedral, London had taken place on 11 January. Illustration 3, from MN, 9 October 1897, shows a very
rare performance at St Paul's Cathedral of a chorus from Stanford's first oratorio, The Three Holy
Children. Illustration 4, from MN, 24 October 1897, demonstrates the popularity of Stanford's service
settings and, like Illustration 3, lists a rich variety of churches, inCludiiig'otie with the' delightfully
thought-provoking locality 'Victoria Station'.
30
See Rainbow, Choral Revival, 312-18 for the musical items published in the Parish Choir, and
Adelmann, Cambridge Ecc/esiologists, 218-21 for the repertoire performed by the Ecclesiological Motett
Choir under Helmore between 1853 and 1862.
;..... ::

·BillMIN(}IJAA( (ST. P HILlP's).-tofom.: Service, KI~Jg In C ;

SJ::XAG.t;SIMA SUNDAY. CommDDicin Service, Sawt In F. ~91111.: Servlc:e, Tours In 1' ;
FEBRUARY ut. Anthem, How lovely arc tile meupg_ers (Men~hn).
CA.ausJ.a CA.TH.EDUL.-Mom.1 Service, To,lvey ln. B flat ;
LtJ,t/~,;.
In.t.roit,_ I 'wlll love tbee (Macfamm. ) ; Kyrle, Klvey In D ftat ;
ST. PAUL's CATH&DllAL-Mora.: Service, Barnby in E; Nu:ene Creed, Hanuonised:.Monptone. Even.: Ser~lc:e, Staluu
Introit, 0 saving victim (MiUer) ;. C.9111iliunlon Service, D:a111by in A ; AJ!Ihem, The Lord is righteo)lll (Handel). . . . . . . .
in E. Even.: 'Service, Bamby in E ;.. Anthem, ll~ in_ !ears ' DUB'UB, ST•. P.A$1U!:K'S (NATlOI'IAL) CATH&DilAL.-Morn.: ·
tho.t soweth.(~i~~et:~ . ,. . . . '= -~~.: '--~~-:-~:>- 5er;,1c:e~ ·Te Dewp. Jubilate. Introit, .Kyrie.J!!d Crs!d:. ·
ALL SAIIITS, ·.lKA&GA8,aT. 5Ta~.-Jtlorn.; ~j,j. •,·,:r~ Stanfoid· m B ·flat· Aiilhem, ~ pants lhe bait (Handel} •. . j
· Deum and Benedictus,:Stalnu::· .Collllillllllon Service;·' ;'hi El(~:·. s~; ~t--and ·Nuocpl!Ditps, Stanl'ord 1n u. I
u ; 011'.9-tory,· I· P.raise Thee, toni" (Mendelssohn): . _-:~ JIM:t J\ntbeijii, ·~-.wa!i (!lri.!I!I~J•.iUiil. 0. LiiRI,
Service, Martin '!D. .. C ;· ·.4Jitbem, · T.be .be11ovens . are .:·~g· ~art my God (lU)'dn:and ~). · ·
(ilayda). C:::~'\.':'. ·•·.
y·: ·: :· ~: ) . . · ;t'··~~~i;~'; ~ . 1'L:II'; ~TMD~:t-...,..Mom.: ~~ &mby i1t .~; ~yrle;
Credo, and. Gloria; Jackman in D 1 ~- Greakailllllillr·:
ST. AUGI!S1:l~~: AND ST· FAlTH; WATLING S1~it!rf;~.
Mom.: semce,'.Tours in . F; OITcrtory, Damby. . ·Even. i ·vellous (llfoiilt), · · .Evcm.c Service, Banlby In .E; Antliani, tbe tn
beglnnlng.~a created, &c., (from Haydn's." Cr~n·''). .
. ". Service. Hopk!DS ln,F ;. Anlhatn, Sing :and rejoice ( D:'~b~lri·.'
·· ST. :MA&9AR.IT··. _:eA·fT~~s~ ·-ltQPD.. :LANE, . fEN~,HpaCH · ··· Exa.!r.sit··:ciTJiaPJW--Mom.l. saNtee, Boyce t.i .A ; lloly

~"<'·:
:e..': .. ~J:t!:tc~;;~n1;'~rvfc~,;;di:~i~l~:A!1h~~~}JT~~#:"
. Colll!llllnipn,.Hopklns ln.F; .Intrqlt, 0 Lord, my .GOd (Malan) •
.Eviiii.:'.Servlce,. G~t In D; Anthem, I IVill Wlllb my bands
(Hopkiils): _ · · · ·· ,_.. .· • · . ·. ·
..vellous work (llodyn); Kyrle, , .. Cr1!9o, · .Sanctus, ·:·Jleii!:!du:l!!S;-c
,, ;;- ... Agnul Del; aiid.' Gloria, Hoyte· in·:D:'" ,Eve1r.: Se~ee~;l\lllg!ii~: •.. Gi.ou~TEil C,l.l"IIJU)RAL.,-Mom..: Service, ~lt in'K;
. ' fica! and Nuii~' DililitUs, Garrett in· F: ; Alitbems, In .spl!liJd(JU~" fSallC~ -~c;~ Weiley lit E. Even.: Service, GOS&.in· E; An· ,·.
:thdn, 0 Where. Sball wisdom (!Ioyce).
~rl~~~~~:(s~~i.ir~)~~-1\'!:!rf~~;~ A~,!J~~2~ ·h:
.. ' . • · . •.. , . ··
1
K~~t~ftJ::~G"r~i:ti:~~~~-.
)·, .
·communiOn' Serv~,. Tours. iri ·:!" ·(lbroughoiat) i:· ..Oifei:t!Jnum,.
Whoso b111h'tliis .wcirld's_a<IO!lc.(Bamb'y)..<Eveo.i' .ser,iee; (Sp<!hr)~~Wi::.l. sUvice, Ouscley iii G; ~ADtliCri!i:\H~~ Pi/•
-Afqold ln. A.; Anthem, I11:]e~~ .is, ~ ki\QI@ (W.~~4),{ • .. : prayer (liendrlssolin). ·· · · ·· ·
·. ST•. · ·MAiiY:s, · STok,K NEIV!MGl'Ofii,:.O..oro. ::·.Sl!rvlC:e;.;.Te :. 'P&Ts~aoui;ii CATHBDKAL-Mom ..: :\enice, lloyce In
Deum, ·Hopldwl iri-G;.'AiltbeJnjJesu;:Wo~ of.,GQd;.(G~~;\IJiQd); A ; Introit, Give ear (Mozart) ; Communion Senlee, Annes in
Even;: Serv~ AiiUiems;.Coioe· unto-Him,•,andjThe,'.Spliit of I A. Even.s Sen·ice, Turle in D; Anlhem, Wherewllhal
• tbe 1.-Jrd (~lie). ·.; ·. ··, .:~.·-'·.>-'{ "'·''' ·:: ;1',:;,::~\f.' ,, '(l!lvey).
· ·· ST. ·.MicWL's, · CollHHii.L~Mori" :··Setvlce,:.:Tct<:Qeu:n ROCHBSTBR CATHBDRAL.-Mom.; Senice, Kyrie and
and JubUat~ ~illllvan in ~FA~tb~m,lt~w dear are~'l:hr~ouo~ ; Creed, Oaseley In A ; Anlhem, 0 Lord, my God (Malan).
:· sels (Crotch); 'Krrii'; Evuon'(Ct~, .. GO!s. ·: E.veo:: :~.~Ice, 'Eve~~.: Service, Ou.;eiey in A; Anthem, Praise_ the_ Lo~
·· Magnllieat:and Nlli\e~DiloltUs, Hopkinsln F; Anthem, O:SVJiere · (Garrett). · .. . . .
sboUwladom(~J~~· . .. •. .·. · . .,.. · .(; · : ·.·. SAL~~UB:~ --CATJIIID&AL.·-Mom. SciviCe:. Oahl~y Iii E'
. ST. -PAu.L's (:HUilCl.f,, Oi.EA?-" l,'oRT"!'JJD ~raiq;;_!;:::-:~~:: Htiltf'Infri,it; M~eil; Kyrie and C~eil; Oakdey; Offerl~rr.
Serv11:11 ,'l;e,,Qeliln .and '1 nbilat~t, G(U'lelt m. D. .~ven: : ,~ecy_lce~ , l<"rost;.•'.Even.·Sei:V.ii:e: Oakel~;y in E,Ba~y •Atlthem, kp come..
. Ma~:ai. beat: and· Nunc Dimitt!S,: Hoyle in JI·Oat; Anlh~;· How· 1
· · lovely.are..Thy:.dwellil:lgs (Spohr) •. · · .·. . . --·: ' '-' , · .. .?~~tt1t~l~~t,:!; Ct{~.;~~~.~·~~s.;ko~:;-~~
·. .s.J.., P. .&T.EiiiVAU~IA.· LL.-.Morn. dierriee, Holy tiiinmiliilo.il,-. Vlce'I'Giites'in•J1; Kynel Gounod 1 Crci!dfNares IIi F.. EHn..
StanrO(d .iii .JJ llat;: Jlelled!ctus iUKl A pus: Del, ·M~· Jn ·.C: 1. -~~~~~~~c., K vey in A ;•J.ilJ~1 -"P~, thou ._mY.
Pate0101ter, S.talner. · Eveil.! · Senil;e, Magnificat: and .:NIJI!C
Dimittls,,Parlaian Tones, Stainer. ·· W.BLL& CATUDa.u..,-Mom. Service: Aldricb In G lhrougb~
LmeoLK'S lHN CHAPJtL-Moin.: Service, Gibbons In F; · Attwood bl'F ;···Anthem, "til.lhat 4Qy,'-"
Gilt/:' EVen;:&unce 1
Antbem, .sii.g to Jbe . .Lord ,. new made song (&le1J1ielssobn). :

,~~~t~s~;±
Alt.: -Servjcf, OibbQns in F ; · Antheai, Blessed Is· Jhe ·man ;
((loss). l _.;
'
1
Ctrunlr)'.
-ST. -.AaArH CAT~U&...-MoJJ;~.: Service, Boyce in C;
Anlheai, !'i".l!e: Lc)m ia. -.JkctlnPJf (Triml!ell). : J£v.1111:: Service, The
.
l are·tiJiy eounms" Crotch, Even., .SilJ'~)I;C-.1· ~ycy in:..'\; .. Au· :
I..ita9Y.l'A!!ll!~,;Tl)e· J.ord ls.verY.;Brtta~ (~with). iih~J~l~=:~~::·:=::;'.~·.'tm~~; .;·F;. . ....
:'.AIIfi!IJQB •.CJtU•t:J.~. ~n.llaeYBJJJ,IB..-:.,;o.f!l.: Serv!ce, I
1
•Gamtt,ln:-J£ ;: KFJ!e-JIIld Cred!'f~,lti:lnrJ>. :Jl:ven.: Sel1~ ' ;tntrqit;:No; ;aa;¥~-; .Kp(el. :f~vers~. F~ C~,~•. · ·' l
~t.ln D; Anlhom1 O.hoi'I:;IIQiiabJO·.(Qun~T)· !~~~;;.~~·:
Anth_.em._.
_·_' ~!~ ~-~~ :.·.

Illustration 2: Service lists from The Musical Standard, 31 January 1880

- - - - · ·-·-------- --- ·-----------···
 SE VEN'rEEN'fH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
LotmON.
Sr. PAUL's C.t.THEDJUL.-M.: T. D., etc., Walmisley in D. H. C.,
Hoyte in D. E.: Smart in F. An.," 'fhu heathen shall fear Thy
name," Stanford.
TEUPLB CauncR:. - M. : 'f. D. und Juh., Nures in F. An.,
"Acquuint thyself with God," Greene. E.: Ntn~ in F. An., "0
Lord, how manifold are Thy works," Barnby.
Sr. S.t.vroua's CoLLE6U.TE CHunoa, S.E.- M.: H. C., Colli~
in F. E. : Calkin in F. An., "0 God when Thou appearcst,"
~{ozart.
•:' ALL SAINTS', MARGARET &rnBET, W.- M.: T. D., Stanford in
B ftnt. Dene., Cobb in G. H. C., Haydn's Mass m H BlLt (No. 1).
~Come unto Him," Leslie. E. : Kiog llall in E ftut. An.,
"My song," "Y!! nutions," Mendelssuhn.
ABBLBY PLACE, S. W., Sr. Atmnnw's.-M.: Barnby in E. An.,
"L~od kindly Light," Stainer. E. : Lee Williams in F. An., " Sing
praises unto the I.or£1," Gouuocl.
B.t.TTBRSEA, ST. PIIILIP's.-M.: H. c., Mozart in n flat. An.,
"Pt•aise the LOl'd," Goss. E.: Smart in B flat. An., "While tho
earth rem11iueth," Tours ; M~ndelssohu's "Lnuda Sion."
Bao~u.nY, :E., ALL HALLow's.-(llurvest Festivnl.)-M. : Smart
in F. H. C., Agutlcr in G. E.: H.oberts in C. An., "Ye shall
dwell in the l&nd," St:~inor.
Commrr.r., E.C., Cnuncn Oll' ST. l\lrmu.EL's.- M.: T. D. and
Ilene., Stainer in B flat. An., ""'e will rejoice," Reynolds. E. :
Hoyte in B flat. An., "..A. wake, nwake, put ou thy strength," WiKo.
J-JonSBLYDOWif, S.E., ST. •Tonx THB EvANGBLillT.-M. : Int.,
"0 Lord, my God," Malan. Ky., Cr., Bene., cto., WOOflward in
E flat. E.: King in F. An.," Ye shnll dwell in the land," Stainer.
Ho:s:TON, N., HoLY 'fmNITY.-M.: T. D., Sulliv&n in D. H. C.,
Mnunder in G. E. : Stanf•ml in n flut. An., "I am Alpha and
Omega," l:ltnii1er.
Kt.JNTISH 'l'owN, Sr. Lmm's, Osrnmr Cnl!l&OENT.-M.: H. C.,
Tours in Jl'. E. : An., "Sing prai~es," Gounod.
Sono. ST. ANN:K's.-M.: '1'. D. and Bene., llarnby in It An.,
"God is a Spirit," Bennett. E.: Baruby in E. An., "l'rnise the
l.onl," Gor.s .
. Sr. MARGARET P.t.TTENII, E.C.-M.: II. C., l\[ozart in C. An.,
"Ilo\V dear oro Thy e.onnsels," Grntch. E. : Attwood in F. An.,
" Heck ye the Lord," Hobcrts.
V1oronu STATION, ST. JoHX TlLR EvA.NoBLlft.-M.: H. -c.,
Stainer in E flat. E. : Feria!. l'tfng., Wn.lruisley in D.

Cot.'l!TRY.
CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL. - M. : Walmisley in D. An., "Thou
visitest the earth," Gt·eene. A. : Wn.lmisley in D. An.," I will give
"thanks," Hopkins.
LtKOOL'ft l.lATBBDJUL.-M.: Dennett in B flat. An., "He that
sh&ll endure," Mendelswbn. R. C., King in C. A.: An., "Blessed
be the God and Father," We~ley.
LtvEnPoor. CATBBDRAL.-A. : Cooke in C. An., "Sing unto thn
Lord," Bydenbam. E. : Chipp in A. .An., "Aa I live, saith the
Lord," Chipp.-
NBWOA.IITLK-ON-TYNE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OB' Sr. Nwnous.-
M. : Stainer in B flat. An.; "I waited for the ]",ord," Mendelssohn.
E.: Garrett in F. An., 11 Sing, 0 Heavens," Sullivan.
SALISBURY CATHEDRAl.. - M. : Selby in A. E.: Selby in A.
An., " 0 God, when Thon appearest," Mozart.
Bniii'ZOL, BBDllC!!STBn PARISH Cuunou.-M.: H. C., Stainer in
E flat. Bene. and Ag. Dei, AgnUer in B flat. E. : Stanford in ll flat,
An., ''Holy, Holy, Holy," Crotch.
BntBTOL, CJIUBOB OP THE HoLY NATIVITY, KNOWLB. - M. :
H. C., Monk In C. An., "0 Sohitnris Hostia,'' C. W. Stear. E. :
M. nnd N. D.,-CI&rke in E. An:," Plead Tho11 my cause," Mozart.
HALIFAX PARISH CHuBOH.-M.: Dykes in 1!'. An., "Ye shall
d\vell in the )1\Dd," Stainer. E.: Steggall in G. An., " Rejoice iu
the Lord," Purcell.
HALlll'A.X; HOJ,y TniNITY CHUBOB.-(Hnrvcat FeRtival.)'- M.:
T. D. aml D., Darnby in B flat. .Tub., Clarke-Whitfield in D.
An., "Yo shall dwell in the land," Stainer. E.: M. and N. D.,
Harper in G. An., ".-rhe Wilderness," Goss. T. D., Dykes in F.
-llA.MPTON Cou&T PALA.CB, OBA.PBL RoYAL.-M.: Tolll'll in F.
An., "0 rest in the Lord," Mendelssohn. A.: :Martin in C. An.,
" 0 come let us worship," Mendelssohn.

Illustration 3: Service lists from Musical News, 9 October 1897

 LBATRBRBBAD, ST. Joim'a SCBOOL-M.: T. D., Cobb in. a.#i~
NINETEEN·rH SUNDAY AFTER TBINITY. Parry in D. An., u Tum thee again," Attwood. · " ,.,~~'!§
LoNDOzr. LIVBBPoor., ar. NJODoiJ.ll Pu.um CallBCIL-M., Chipp .A~ m··
WESTlW<BrEB ABnEY.- M.: Gnrrett in E lint. Continuation, ~ "~y word is,~ ~tern," PllrC<!JI. E.: Dykes in F. i.k.~~
Aguttor in A !lat. .An., "If ye love me," Tallis. A. : Smart in B fiat.
An.," Jly Babylon's wave," Gonnod. E.: An., "Judge me, 0 God,"
Blessed •~ the man, Whttfeld.
PBBSTOR PABJ.81[ CmmmL·- E.: An., "Tboy wero lo ..Iy!ilitd>
. .: ·'·"'l
Mendelssohn. pleasant," Stainer. • ·:::~~~'1.)
Tlrnl'iE Clrollmr.- M. : T. D. tmd Jub., Cobb in G. An., BA~IULL, ST. AzrR'a PA.IlliiH Cnun~n.-M.: Wallis in Q,o~ E;'!J;
"Praise the Lord, 0 my soul." Purcell. E..: Attwood in li. An., Gosa m A. · ,;;t.f;
"Praise the Lord, 0 my soul," Croft. RB.&_nmo, Sr. LAUBB><CE Mmmnr..u. CB.uncn.-M.: T. D~ '\Y-t.ci.l~
ALL S.uttra', MAilGAJU!T 8r:all1<1', w.- M.: T. D., Ambrosino. 'lrJlfd m E :lint. H. c~ Ky~ etc., Deacon. Cr., Mnrbecke. .Jt·:l;l
Bene., Simcox. H. C., Schobert'~ Mass in B fiat. An., "If with all Batti.on-Haynes in E lint. An., "Tho Lord gantho word," TorJi~!.~
your hearts," :M'endelssolw. E •. : Gndsby in C. An., "Sing to the SoU'I:!LUJPTO!I, Sr. MARrs CnunCH.-ftll. : Dykes in F. i Hi.C..1
Lord,'' Smart. Dy}res .and. Gray in F. E.: Dykes in F. An., "0 prais~ ~.~
A.tmiJ<T PL.t.CB, S.W., S-r. A!lriuw'a•...:M.: Stan£ord in B fiat. Trunnell. : ·-:,·c~
An.,"Thou ,-uirestlhe earth," Greene. E..: Stanfoid mX: An., Sotrrll ~s, Sr• .Af».U:,• CllollCJL-M.: T.D.,StopJ!en~·i.~qf,?
"Rejoice in the Lord," Mnrtio. T. D., Martin in A. E.: An~ Send out thy light, Gounod. · ""''''
BA.TTEIU!EA, ST. PBILJP's.-M.: If. C., Eyre in E Oat (tl.rooghont). WIGAN PAilJSB CaDllcu.-E.: Smart in F. An., "Fathetcofft
E.: Bruce Ste:ne in E fiat. An.," I mil give thanks," Hamby. He:lven," Walmisley. .,,,!'/:.'N
GollNJULL, E.C., CnUilcn OF ST. MlcJLuu.'s.- M.: T. D. and Wnmoll!lm. MulsTJm.- M. : Sullivan in D. E.: Kil!g ib "f.i'[!.
Jnb., Thorne in G. An., "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace," An~ "Great IS tl!e Lord," Hayes. · '•'·'~k<:~
Wesle~·. E. : Stoiuer iu B fiat. An., "0 where shall wisdom be · · · • . '-"'
found," l:loyce. [Sen.-ice lid• 1/touU readL our offic•, outhenticoUd by tJu. sigao!I!RJ-'i;j
HoRSRLYD01VN, S.E., ST. Jolll< THE En><olU.IST.-M. : Int., of•mtkr•. bg Wodnarlay ,.,.mng at kUm. IRfoluro, !Mu crm O..lfi!J,
"Blessed be the Lord God,'' Nares. Ky., Cr., and Bene., Woodward be iruerled if [onaarded WVIli<LT oa po11tcor.U, or d•arTy ·,..,Q;jif,
in E flat. E.: King in F. An., "As the baut paoteth," Marcello. i " Service Lin,' 011 couer.-KD., M.N.] · '·... r~~
HonoN, N.,_ HoLY TRmiTY.-M.: T. D., Dykes in F. H. C., ! '·~ ..l.t!:
Smart in F.· E. : Arnold in A. An., "0 tostc and see," Goss.
KE..'TIBB ToWll, ST. Lt1l<:S's, OnNEY CnBSCBNT.-M.: H. C., 1
I
Stan£ord in B Oat. E.: An.,'' God of J,igbt," Haydn. --- 1
LONDON WA.Lr., B.C., Sr. ALI'BA.O&-(Hanest Festival.)- M.:
T. D. and Jub., Sullivan in D. .An., " Ble!sed be the namo uf
tbe Lord," Gndsby. Ky., etc., Garrett in D. E. : Cobb in C. An.,
u Siog to the Lord of Harv~t," Maunder.
LoTnnURr, E.C., Sr. MA.ROA.RRT's.-M. : T. D., Smo.rt in F.
H. G., Dykes in F. E.: Bunnell in l!'. An.," I waited for the Lord,"
Mendelssohn.
Sono, Sr. Azo:J<s's.-M.: T. D. and Jub., Croft in A. An.,
"Praise the Lord 0 Jerusalem," Hayes •. E.: Garrett in D. An.,
" 0 where shall wisdom be fqund," Boyce.
Sr. 111Ano.uu<T PATrENS, E.C.- M.: H. C., Schubert in G.
An., " IU that shall endure," Mendelssohn ; " 0 Sa<red Banquet,"
Cnrschnmon. E. : Hoyle in B Oat. An., "Tbc radiant morn,"
Woodward.
VJCTOIDA. S-rA.rrnN, Sr. Jom< THE EVABOBLIST.-M. : H. C.,
Garrett in E Oat. E. : Stainer in A.
WF.s1'>UNs:rns, ST. M..utoAnBr·s.-M. : H. C., Schubert in B !lat.
Ky., T. D., Stoiner in E flat. An., • Forsake me nor," Spohr. E.:
Garrott in F. An.," Asoribe.unto tho Lord," Wealey.
COUNTRY.
CA.NrEnounr C.UBBDilAL. -!til.: Tude in D. Ao.;" How goodly
aru Thy tents," Ouselcy. A. : 'furlo iu D. Au., • Praiae the Lord,
0 my soul," Garrett. ·
LUIOOLI'I t:ATliBDJUL.- M.: Tours in F. An., ".As the bart
panta," Gounod. R. C., Stanford in B !lat. A. : An., "Lift thine
eyes," Men<l.elssohn.
LIVERPOOL CA.TJIEORAL.-A.: Tuckennnn in F. An., "0 praiae .
our God," Buhler. E.: Barnby in E. An.," The healinlf o£ Bartl-
nueus," Burstall.
NBWOAIITLR-01<-TYNB C~llAL CauaCH OP ST. NtcnoLA..I!.-
M. : Stanford in B flat. An., "Remember not, J:.Ord," Purcell. E.:
Stanford m B HaL An., •• I will sing of Thy great mercies," u 0 great
as tho depth," JSlendelasoho.
SALISBURY CA.TBEDB..I.L.- M. : Wesley in E. E.: Wesley in E.
Ao., •• The Lord is my shepherd." Stanford.
BniS'lOL, BEDIIUN8TBR PA.lliSll CnunclL-M.: H. c.,.Ky., Cr.,
etc., Tours in F. Bene. and A a, Dei, Cox in D fiat. E. : Arnold in A.
An., 11 The Heaveus are telling," Haydn.
HA.L!I!'.U, HoLT TRINITY Caullcn.-M. : T. D., Jackson in F.
Jub., Clarke-Whitfield io D. An., "I ml'l magoify.Thee," Daptiste-
Calkin. E.: Stainer in D. An., "Blessed. be the God and Father,"
S. S. Wesley.
lLu.IF..U P.uusa CHUBca.-M.: An., "De merciful unto me,"
Sydenham. E.: Smart in G. A.n., " If ''"e belieTe," Goss.
H..utPTOI< CoUBT P.u..t..cs, CllA.l'llL RoT..u..-M. : Ston£ord in A.
An.," Wo will rejoice," Cruft. E. : Nares lo F. An., d All we bke
sheep," Handel.

Illustration 4: Service lists from Musical News, 24 October 1897

 21

As one would perhaps expect, much of the best and most durable church music of

this period came from the pens of experienced cathedral musicians such as Attwood,

Goss, Wesley and Stainer, to whom must be added the Collegiate organists Walmisley,

George Elvey, Garrett and Stanford? 1 A careful perusal of the three 'Service List'

columns in Illustrations 2, 3 and 4 clearly shows the change in emphasis of the routine

church music repertoire by the last two decades of the century. 32 The thousands of

ordinary citizens who attended churches provided with new organs wished to hear them

used, and they found much of the newly-written music far more interesting to listen to

than unaccompanied anthems from the distant past. Temperley sums up the situation

thus:

We may conclude that the advance of choralism was in no sense a victory for the Oxford Movement, or,
indeed, for any idealistic group of churchmen. Rather, it was an expression of secular middle-class values
and tastes, a part of the immense growth in appreciation of professional musical performance that marked
the age. As we might predict, the music that these choirs performed was, for the most part, neither the
austere Gregorian chant revered by the Tractarians, nor the heartfelt melody beloved of the Evangelicals.
It was a music primarily harmonic in conception, with as much variety of c,olour as circumstances
allowed, echoing the rich orchestral and operatic sonorities of Spohr, Meyerbeer, and Mendelssohn, or
later ofGounod, Liszt, Brahms, and Wagner. 33

Even more remarkable than the large quantity of new music written for church

choirs during the Victorian period, however, was the tremendous outpouring of new

hymns and hymn tunes. 34 Of the many hymn books published during the period, it was

Hymns Ancient and Modern, first published in 1861, that overtook all others in terms of

popularity. Reprinted in ever expanded editions (1868, 1875, 1889), the balance of the

book became 'increasingly modern rather than ancient' ,35 helping it to maintain its

supremacy until well into the second half of the twentieth century. Even repeated

31
Others whose church music gained wide popularity in the later Victorian period included Bamby,
Dykes, Tours, E.J. Hopkins, Henry Smart and Sullivan.
32
A majority of the pieces listed here are by nineteenth century English composers, many of them still
living, but Spohr, Gounod, and especially Mendelssohn are also present, as are also Handel, Haydn,
Mozart and Schubert. Most of the music would require organ accompaniment, and the percentage of
music composed before 1650 is very small indeed.
33
Temperley, Music ofthe English Parish Church, 286.
34
Temperley, ibid., 296, speaks of'The deluge ofhymns'.
35
Ibid., 298-9.
 22

denigration of many Victorian hymn tunes, including a particularly vitriolic attack from

Stanford in 1914, failed to destroy their popularity. 36

One final noteworthy feature of the church choral revival in the later nineteenth

century was the increasing frequency of the use of orchestras to augment the organ in

special services. Following his appointment to St Paul's Cathedral in 1872, Stainer

introduced an orchestra as a regular feature of the annual Festival of the Sons of Clergy,

and occasionally at other special services, especially the Patronal Festival in January.

An early commission for one of these services was Stanford's Evening Service in A,

first sung at the Sons of Clergy Festival in May 1880. Perusal of the 'events' columns

in musical journals of the 1860s onwards reveals occasional reports of special services

in churches around the country where orchestras, or at least a number of additional

instruments, were used to supplement the organ, and such examples increased

noticeably in the fmal years of the century. 37 The culmination of this late Victorian

trend took shape in the formation in 1894 of a body based in London and known as the

Church Orchestral Society. 38 The aim of the society was to establish an orchestra of

competent amateurs who would rehearse regularly orchestral accompaniments to a core

repertoire of cantatas, oratorios and service music, with a view to providing interested

parties with a body of musicians capable of producing accompaniments of a high

musical standard after a single combined rehearsal. To this end, the Society delayed the

acceptance of engagements until it had its full complement of players and had

36
Stanford, Pages, 310-11.
37
Two examples are provided, firstly by MT, May 1894, 339: an Easter Day Communion Service with
orchestra at StJohn's, Wilton Road, London, conducted by G.J. Bennett, with the note that a further
Dedication Festival, service with orchestra was planned; secondly by MN, 24 September f898, referrmg to
orchestrally accompanied Harvest Festival services, with Stanford's Evening Service in A, at StThomas'
Church, Newcastle. See also Hillsman, Traits and Aims in Anglican Church Music, 239-50.
38
References to the early days of the Society may be found in MN, 4 November 1893, I, and 4 August
1894,98, and in MT, August 1894,545.
 23

sufficiently rehearsed its core repertoire. 39 George Bennett (later to be Organist of

Lincoln Cathedral) was appointed conductor in 1895, and by the summer of 1897 the

new president, Frederick Bridge (of Westminster Abbey) was able to report 'remarkable

progress' and a great number of applications for the use of the orchestra. 40 It is most

likely that many of the occasions on which the Church Orchestral Society played were

not reported by the press, but there is still occasional mention of its activities, and it was

certainly still in existence shortly before the First World War, when Stanford was

elected its president. 41

The Victorian enthusiasm for choral singing became so powerful, indeed, that it

spread far beyond the confmes of church choir-stalls and choral services. The desire to

sing choral works of larger dimensions led not only to the increasing tendency to

perform cantatas and oratorios, or parts of them, in church, at specially devised concerts

or 'musical services', but also to the formation of hundreds of choral societies

throughout the land and, alongside them, the development of regional Musical Festivals

in major cities.

The development of the choral society and the musical festival

In the later years of the eighteenth century the most evident signs of choral activity,

outside church and chapel, lay, firstly, in various madrigal, catch and glee clubs for

middle- and upper-class gentlemen, and secondly in the numerous music clubs formed,

mostly in the north of England, for the regular practice and performance of vocal and

instrumental music. 42 Large-scale choral performances, exemplified particularly by the

Handel Festivals, beginning in 1784, were comparatively rare occurrences, and

39
Notices in MN, 18 May 1895, 98; 27 July 1895, 69; 28 September 1895, 259; and MT, August 1895,
548; October 1895, 698; December 1895, 802.
40
MT, September 1897, 623.
41
MT, January 1914, 30.
42
Percy M. Young, History ofBritish Music, Ernest Benn, London 1967,402,411-12.
 24

restricted in the mam to professional performers. This situation saw a rapid

transformation during the nineteenth century.

Between 1813 and 1854 numerous choral societies were formed, mostly in the north

and midlands, 43 and this rapid development of choral activity in the northern half of the

country proved beneficial to other areas of England, where numbers of singers for large

choral performances could be reinforced by the importation of extra forces. London's

Sacred Harmonic Society (founded in 1833) was one ofthe first choral groups to benefit

from such an arrangement, bringing down singers from Yorkshire and Lancashire to

assist in large-scale performances, and finding them local employment during their stay

in the capital. 44

Soon, however, the great benefits of the singing-class movements began to reflect

upon the membership of an ever-increasing number of choral societies, and even the

Handel Festival choirs moved largely from professional to amateur singers. 45

The towns and cities which became the homes of Musical Festivals, mostly

triennial, (to be discussed presently), naturally established their own choral societies

which performed independently of the Festivals themselves but, by the fmal decades of

the century, there were literally hundreds of choral groups throughout the country, many

of them in quite small towns, giving regular concerts. 46 Joseph Bennett, in one of a

series of articles tracing the development of music during sixty years of Queen

Victoria's reign, summed up the proliferation of choral societies with the words: 'now

[1897] you can hardly fling a stone in any part of the country without risk of hitting a

member of some choral society' .47

43
Ibid., 427.
44
Henry Davey, History ofEnglish Music, Curwen, Lmidon J 895, 449-50.
45
Ibid., 457; also Donald Burrows, 'Victorian Music', The Late Romantic Era ed. Jim Samson,
Macmillan, London 1991, 277.
46
Examples of this spread and diversity are evident in Appendix J.
47
Joseph Bennett, 'Victorian Music', MT, January 1897, 1 J.
 25

The earliest of London's several choral societies was the afore-mentioned Sacred

Harmonic Society. Flourishing for half a century from 1832 to 1882, and conducted

first by Joseph Surman, later by Michael Costa, it presented oratorio on a large scale,

including the first London performances of Mendelssohn's St Paul in 1837, and the

revised version of EliJah ten years later. 48

The Royal Albert Hall Choral Society was formed by Gounod in 1871, the year of

the Hall's opening, but he soon handed over the conductorship to Joseph Barnby, who

remained in the post until his death in 1896, after which the task fell to Sir Frederick

Bridge, Organist of Westminster Abbey. The repertoire of this society - re-named

'Royal Choral Society' in 1888 - broadened to cover a full range of contemporary

works. 49 Its number of singers remained large, to fulfil the demands of the vast

building.

Another choir founded together with its host building was the Alexandra Palace

Choral Society (1873), its programmes including revivals of lesser-known Handel

oratorios. 50 In the first decade of the twentieth century the Society earned a high

reputation under the conductor Allen Gill, performing not only Handel and Bach, but

also Elgar, Dvorak and Coleridge-Taylor. 5 1

The Bach Choir was formed by Otto Goldschmidt in 1875 to give the first English

performances of Bach's B minor Mass. Goldschmidt's main object during his decade

as conductor was to bring the major choral works of Bach before the British public, and

his successors have all continued to regard Bach's music as the cornerstone of the

choir's repertoire. Stanford took over in 1885, but by the tum of the century a decline

48
Young, History of British Music, 438. This society ceased to exist, however, before the emergence of
the first of Stanford's significant choral works.
49
Barnby championed several of Stanford's earlier choral works, including The Revenge, The Voyage of
Mae/dune andcEden. Threeperforriumces ofthe Songs ofthe Sea andoiie each~of 'Son/isofiJie F/eei and
Stabat Mater are recorded by Frederick Bridge in A Westminster Pilgrim, Novello!Hutchinson, London
1918,351.
50
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., Macmillan, London 2001, vol.15, 143.
51
William J. Galloway, Musical England, Christophers, London 1910, 118-9.
 26

in membership and a consequent falling of standards caused him to resign in 1902. At

this point the choir's future looked very uncertain, but in 1903 Walford Davies took

over the choir and resurrected its fortunes, handing over to Hugh Allen in 1907. Allen

remained until 1920, when he was succeeded in turn by Vaughan Williams. Under

successive conductors the choir's repertoire broadened to encompass a wide range of

music, but Bach has retained, to this day, an important place in its performance

schedule.

After the turn of the century, in 1903, the London Choral Society was formed with

the aim, under its conductor Arthur Fagge, of performing new choral works by British

composers and reviving older works that were unjustly neglected. By 1910 concerts

had included several Elgar works, Walford Davies's Everyman, Parry's Pied Piper of

Hamelin, and works by Julius Harrison and Granville Bantock. 52

One other London-based choral venture of a slightly different nature was of

considerable significance to audiences at the time. From 1867-72 the music publisher

Novello sponsored a series of choral concerts, conducted by Bamby. At first the

intention was to present the best examples of smaller-scale choral pieces, such as part-

songs and glees, better served by a chamber-sized choir, but in 1869 the scheme was

extended into a series of 'Oratorio Concerts', the main purpose of which was to give

London audiences access to good choral music at a cheap price: entrance was one

shilling. 53 In 1872 Barnby's choir was amalgamated with the new Royal Albert Hall

Choral Society. In 1885 a new series entitled 'Novello's Oratorio Concerts' was

instituted, with Alexander Mackenzie as conductor. Although established works were

performed, a main purpose of this second burst of concert-giving was to give London

audiences their first opportunity to hear some of the firm's most recently published

52
Ibid., 117.
53
[Joseph Bennett(?)], A Short History ofCheap Music, Novello, London 1887, 96-7, 103-7.
 27

choral works. 54 One of the earliest of these concerts (14 December 1886) included

Stanford's Revenge, but this second venture lasted only until 1889. 55 In 1905 a

'Novello Choir' was formed under the conductorship of William McNaught, performing

works of large and small dimensions. It survived until 1924, giving in its final concert

(May 1st ofthat year) a performance of Stanford's part-song Corydon, arise, possibly as

a memorial gesture to the recently deceased composer. 56

Outside London, despite the ever-growing number of choral societies in all comers

of the land, it was the provincial Musical Festivals that were of the greatest significance,

attracting considerable attention nationwide. These festivals, most of which occurred

on a triennial basis, will be considered in chronological order of their establishment.

The oldest of these choral events was, in fact, in London: the Festival of the Sons of

Clergy, established in 1665 for charitable purposes, and held annually in St Paul's

Cathedral right up to the present. Generally held in May, it consists of a single Festival

Service with sermon. Music was originally centred around Purcell and Handel, but

John Goss began to introduce a wider range of music in the 1830s, and from 1873 John

Stainer re-introduced orchestral accompaniment and began to commission new pieces

from contemporary composers. Stanford contributed his Evening Service in A for the

1880 Festival and the anthem The Lord ofMight in 1903.

Most senior amongst the regional festivals is that of the three cathedral cities of

Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester. In existence by 1720, the 'Three Choirs' meetings

took place from the outset in each of the cities in rotation. 57 From 1824 the annual

Festivals were officially linked, like so many subsequently founded festivals elsewhere,

to a charitable cause. The eighteenth-century meetings were dominated by the music of

54
Ibid., .)38-9; MT, June 1885, 328; December 1885,717.
55
MT, October 1889, 600-601, in an article by Joseph Bennett, gives a complete list of works performed
between 1885 and 1889.
56
MT, June 1924, 553, gives the complete concert programme.
57
See Anthony Boden, Three Choirs, A History ofthe Festival, A. Sutton, Stroud 1992, 1.
 28

Handel, whose Messiah 'remained safely anchored to the Festivals for the whole of the

nineteenth and much of the twentieth centuries'. 58 Originally a straightforward

combination of the three cathedral choirs, during the nineteenth century, with the

formation of mixed adult choral societies in each of the three cities, the Festival Choir

grew in size and contained a mixture of professional and amateur forces. 59

In the later Victorian era the Three Choirs Festival increased in length and changed

the emphasis of its repertoire, performing many more works by living composers, often

specially commissioned. For the greatest number of first performances at these

Festivals, the palm must be awarded to Parry (twelve between 1880 and 1912). Elgar,

the composer most closely associated with the Three Choirs from 1877, when he first

played in the orchestra, until his death, had only five first performances, yet the longest

list of works performed, Parry coming a close second. Stanford, never so closely

involved with the Three Choirs as these other two men, had only three first

performances at the Three Choirs. 6 ° For their range and quality of music, the Three

Choirs Festivals became ever more serious rivals to the Birmingham and Leeds

Festivals, which had earlier established reputations for forward-looking policies in

musical repertoire. This was especially the case following the appointment of a new

triumvirate of Three Choirs cathedral organists in the 1890s.61

Whereas the Three Choirs Festivals occurred annually, though rotating between the

three cathedral cities, the other important provincial festivals were held only once every

three years. Such was the case with the next in seniority- the Birmingham Festival,

58
Ibid., 93.
59
The engagement of extra singers, many of them amateur, from other parts of the country began before
the 1830s and continued for most of the century. See Boden, Three Choirs, 47-8. Watkins Shaw, The
Three Choirs Festival, Baylis, Worcester and London 1954,50, quotes an instance, in 1854, when a team
of soloists sang the same works in three successive weeks at Worcester, Norwich and Liverpool.
60
Figures from Shaw, Three Choirs Festival, 136-148. The three Stanford works commissioned for, or
frrst heard at the Three Choirs were Festival Overture (1877), The Last Post (1900), and Ye Holy Angels
Bright (1913), although the official 'first performance' of The Last Post at Hereford was, in fact, preceded
by a private hearing at Buckingham Palace on 25 June 1900.
61
See Shaw, Three Choirs, 84-6; Boden, Three Choirs, 130-1.
 29

which, beginning on a regular basis in 1784, and moving its concerts to the new town

hall from 1834, had established a formidable reputation by the mid-nineteenth century.

The seal of its success had been provided by the visits of Mendelssohn in 1837 and

again, with his newly commissioned oratorio Elijah in 1846.62 This work was

immediately recognised as a masterpiece and rapidly became the most popular oratorio

after Messiah with English audiences - a position it retained well into the twentieth

century.

Following Mendelssohn's early death, the Festival engaged well-known outside

conductors to add lustre to the occasions: first Michael Costa (1849-1882), then Hans

Richter (1885-1909), and fmally Henry Wood for the last Festival in 1912. The

formation of a permanent choral society from 1811 to serve the Festivals and, in the

intervening periods, to give additional concerts, gave further stability to the Festivals

themselves. Under William Stockley, the gifted chorus-master from 1855-1895, the

performances of the Birmingham Festival Choral Society gained a high reputation. 63

From the 1860s onwards a steady stream of new works, many of them specially

commissioned, was to adorn the festival programmes. The list of composers is long and

includes both British and foreign musicians. 64 Stanford had three important first

performances at Birmingham Festivals: his oratorios The Three Holy Children (1885)

and Eden (1891), and the Requiem (1897). After 1897 Stanford's connection with

Birmingham ceased, but Elgar's began at the 1900 Festival with the disastrous first

performance of The Dream of Gerontius. Subsequent performances showed the true

qualities of the work, however, and Elgar wrote three further choral works for

Birmingham: The Apostles (1903), The Kingdom (1906) and The Music Makers (1912).

62
Anne Elliott, The Music Makers: A BriefHistory ofthe Birmingham Triennial Musical Festivals 1784-
1912, Birmingham Library Services, Birmingham 2000, 5-7.
63
Nicholas Temperley, 'Birmingham', New Grove Dictionary, 1980 edition.
64
Elliott, Music Makers, 32 gives a complete list of works first performed at Birmingham Festivals
between 1834 and 1912.
 30

The Birmingham Festivals did not survive the 1914-18 war, but achieved, together with

Leeds, pre-eminent status amongst national musical events during their last couple of

decades, with an ever more forward and outward looking repertoire.

The opening of the Norfolk and Norwich General Hospital in 1772 gave rise to

sporadic fund-raising musical events during the next five decades. Eventually, in 1824,

a Norwich and Norfolk Triennial Music Festival was established, with concerts based

mainly in St Andrew's Hall- a converted medieval church- and St Peter Mancroft,

rather than in the cathedral. A series of well-known conductors from London were

engaged to add prestige to the events: Sir George Smart (1824-36), Julius Benedict

(1845-78), Alberto Randegger (1881-1905) and Sir Henry Wood (1908-30). The

orchestra and soloists, plus some of the chorus singers, were likewise drawn from

outside East Anglia.

During the middle years of the nineteenth century Spohr's name was almost as

central to the Norwich Festivals as Mendelssohn's was to those in Birmingham. The

1830 Festival included the first English performance of Spohr's Last Judgement,

followed by his Calvary in 1839, conducted by the composer, and The Fall of Babylon
65
in 1842. The first of these works became a firm favourite at most, if not all of the

English Festivals during the next few decades.

Almost from their inception, the Norwich Triennial Festivals became noted for their

promotion of recent or newly-composed works, most of them by native composers.

Parry, Mackenzie and Stanford all wrote works for Norwich, Stanford's contributions

being the Elegiac Ode in 1884 and Phaudrig Crohoore in 1896. Of the 1884 Festival,

Legge and Hansell state:

65
See Galloway, Musical England, 94; Robin Legge & W.E. Hansell, Annals ofthe Norwich and Norfolk
Triennial Music Festivals, 1824-93, Jarrold, Norwich 1896; Grove 11, vol.III, 391-2 (W. Barclay Squire);
New Grove, 2nd ed. 2001, vol.18, 68-9 (N. Temperley & others).
 31

By common consent the Norwich meeting of 1884 was the best English festival of the year, not only
because of the superior excellence of the performances, but also by reason of the fact that the two
principal novelties were by native composers. 66

A further significant first performance at Norwich was that of Elgar's Sea Pictures in

1899. Unlike the Birmingham Festivals, which were never revived on a regular basis

after the 1914-18 war, those at Norwich survived two world wars and continued into the

later twentieth century.

The last of the major Triennial Musical Festivals to be founded was that at Leeds,

coinciding with the opening in 1858 of the new town hall. Here too, profits were

donated to local charities. 67 Sullivan became Festival Conductor from 1880 to 1898,

during which period the Festival gained an important status and reputation,

commissioning new works from, amongst others, Raff, Dvotak, Massenet,

Humperdinck, Parry, Stanford, Elgar and Sullivan himself. Stanford's first Leeds

offering was his choral ballad The Revenge (1886), where it shared the limelight with

Sullivan's Golden Legend. Subsequently The Voyage of Mae/dune (1889), the Te

Deum, Op.66 (1898), the Songs of the Sea (1904), the Stabat Mater (1907), and the

Songs of the Fleet (1910) all had their first hearings at Leeds Festivals. Such an

impressive list of first performances, added to Stanford's appointments as chief

conductor of the Leeds Festivals (1901-1910) and of the Leeds Phinlatmonic Society

(1897-1909), undoubtedly make his connection with the city more significant than those

with other provincial centres. 68 Despite a falling popularity and financial troubles in the

later years of Stanford's conductorship, the Leeds Festivals introduced some English

works of lasting significance to the repertoire, notably Elgar's Caractacus (1898) and

Falstaff(1913), and Vaughan Williams's Sea Symphony (1910) before the First World

66
Legge & Hansell, Annals, 238. The two new works were Stanford's Elegiac Ode and Mackenzie's
Rose ofSharon.
67
For details of the early history of the Leeds Festivals see New Grove Dictionary, 2"d ed. 2001, vol.14,
462 (Percy M. Young), and Grove II, vol.II, 663.
68
The Leeds chorus became one of the most respected of the northern choirs, often supplying singers to
augment choirs at other festivals. See Shaw, Three Choirs, 73.
 32

War, which temporarily halted all the musical festivals. After the war the Festival was

revived, continuing until 1970.

None of the several other provincial festivals inaugurated during the period 1870-

191 0 achieved the status of those already discussed, although Stanford's ode The Bard

was commissioned for the Cardiff Festival of 1895, and his Wellington Ode received its

first hearing at the Bristol Festival of 1908. One further festival is worthy of mention in

the context ofthis study, however, partly because of its promotion of Stanford's works,

but also because of its unusual nature and setting.

The Hovingham Festivals were the creation of a country parson, Canon Percy

Pemberton, in 1886. Vicar of Gilling, a small parish in rural Yorkshire, roughly

midway between Malton and Thirsk, and a keen amateur musician, Pemberton

discussed with Sir William Worsley, squire of the adjoining village of Hovingham, the

possibility of attempting a musical festival in the large Riding School of Hovingham

Hall. As a result of Pemberton's enthusiasm and persistence, a series of successful

festivals followed, almost annually, until his retirement in 1906. These festivals were

the more remarkable in that the chorus and orchestra were formed in the main from

local talent, only vocal and instrumental soloists- and the best-known, at that- coming

from further afield. The list of works performed is impressive, and contemporary

reviews were often highly complimentary. Stanford figured in several programmes, and

was represented by The Revenge, The Three Holy Children (part 1), the Te Deum,

Op.66, and The Last Post. 69

69
See Galloway, Musical England, 100-102; Herbert Thompson, 'The Hovingham Festival', MT,
November 1903,739-41 gives a briefhistory as well as a report of the 1903 Festival. MTthe following
month (December 1903, 792) gives a list of works performed at the Festivals between 1887 and 1903.
 33

The growth of music publishing and the production of cheap choral music

This rich profusion of choral activity could not have developed without an ever-

increasing supply of printed music, and nineteenth century England saw a parallel

growth of choral singing and music publishing. Despite the existence, in the early years

of the century, of numerous music publishing concerns, it was the firm established in

London from 1811 by Vincent Novello which, by its perception of a need for a plentiful

supply of good choral music at prices which were within the reach of the lower and

lower-middle classes, to a large extent cornered a huge market. The story of the

production of affordable music for choirs of all kinds is effectively, though not entirely,

the story ofNovello's publishing ventures. Much has been written about the history and

fortunes of this fum, and the following brief summary will draw on sources both well-

known and more obscure. 70

Although Vincent Novello was himself a musician and business man of energy and

vision, it was during the proprietorship of his son James Alfred (from 1829-1866) that

the Novello publishing business evolved from an unpretentious family concern into one

of the leading British music publishing houses. Greatly expanding the business during

the 1830s and 40s, readily embracing new advances in printing technology, and

accurately predicting an imminent sharp rise in demand for copies of choral music at a

cheap price, Alfred Novello pioneered the octavo size for choral scores - a format

which proved so convenient to choral singers that it was subsequently adopted by many

70
[Bennett(?)], A Short History of Cheap Music; Laurence Swinyard, A Century and a Half in Soho: A
Short History of the Firm ofNovello, 1811-1961, Novello, London 1961; Michael Hurd, Vincent Novello
-and Company, Novello, London 1981; Victoria Cooper, The House ofNovello- Practice and Policy of
a Victorian Music Publisher, 1829-'1866, Ashgate, Alder8hot2003. Varioils artiCles and colluriiis from
the musical journals of the period fill out the story further. These include items from MS and MN, but of
particular interest is the firm's celebration of its centenary in MTfor June 1911, which includes both an
interview with the current head of the firm, Alfred Littleton, and a 21 page supplement giving a brief
history of the firm and its achievements.
 34

other firms. 71 The ever-increasing demand for choral scores led to longer print runs,

and a consequent lowering of sale prices was greatly assisted by the removal, during the

1850s, of the taxes on paper and printing. 72

Alfred Novello, anxious not only to link his firm with the choral festivals, but also

to expand publication to embrace modern works, began this process by securing the

English copyright for Mendelssohn's St Paul in advance of the first English

performance at the Liverpool Festival in October 1836. 73 The firm's list of choral

music grew rapidly, and in addition to the expanding lists of cantata and oratorio scores,

various other series of choral publications were added. 74 By 1866, when Henry

Littleton took over as head of the company, Novello had become known as the main

English publisher of sacred music. 75 An indication of the extent of increase in the

firm's output may be seen in the fact that the 1893 House catalogue is approximately

four times the size ofthat of 1858, and embraces huge quantities of music by living or

recently dead composers, both English and foreign. English composers, indeed, were

being given every encouragement, and the 1893 catalogue abounds in new cantatas,

oratorios, anthems and part-songs of native provenance. 76

Stanford was one of the new composers promoted and encouraged by Novello in the

earlier years of his career (roughly from 1877-1895), and amongst the choral works

published during this period two in particular - the B flat Service (1879) and The

71
The octavo format evolved originally from its use for the music supplements issued with each number
of MT, the Novello house journal, from its inception in 1844. See Cooper, The House ofNovello, 72,
126; A Short History of Cheap Music, 39-40.
72
Cooper, The House ofNovello, 12-13, quotes some interesting statistics to demonstrate how the more
modest prices placed music scores within the reach of an ever wider social range of people. The
campaign for, and eventual removal of the 'taxes on knowledge' is documented in Cheap Music, 59-67;
Cooper, House ofNovel/o, 115-120; MT, Novello Centenary Supplement, June 1911, 10-11.
73
Hurd, Vincent Novello, 41.
74
These included the Novello Part-song Book, Octavo Anthems, Octavo Choruses, Parish Choir Book,
Church Services, Short Anthems, and MusiCal Tinies(the tnusical supplemehts-availabie' independently
of the journal). Tonic solfa editions were also produced where there was a market for them.
75
MN, 2 December 1891,503, refers to the fact that the words 'The Sacred Music Warehouse' appeared
in gold letters on the Novello premises in Dean Street.
76
Hurd, Vincent Novello, 68-70.
 35

Revenge (1886) -became enormously popular, selling many thousands of copies during

the next few decades. 77 Stanford's somewhat argumentative nature and mercurial

temper caused strained relations with various publishers from time to time, and Novello

was one of the casualties. 78

Although no other British music publisher of the Victorian and Edwardian era in

any way rivalled Novello in its degree of dedication to serious choral music or the sheer

volume of its choral publications, several other firms merit brief attention for their work

in this field. 79

Boosey & Co., originally founded in 1816, became known during the later

nineteenth century chiefly as a publisher of popular ballads, but the business also

produced a small amount of choral music. 80 Stanford had several choral works

published by the firm at intervals throughout his working life, beginning with the

anthem Awake my heart (1881) and concluding with At the Abbey Gate (1921 ). 81

The firm of Chappell had its origins in London from 181 0, and specialised m

popular dance music and light opera. Its relatively small list of choral music included,

however, Stanford's first published choral work, The Resurrection (Die

Auferstehung)(l875). 82

77
A list of Stanford's choral works and their publishers will be found in Appendix 2. The two recent
biographies of the composer quote sales figures for vocal scores of The Revenge as over 60,000 by 1897;
120,000 by 1914; 195,000 by 1939: see Jeremy Dibble, Charles Vi//iers Stanford, Man and Musician,
Oxford University Press, Oxford 2002, 178; Paul Rodmell, Charles Vi//iers Stanford, Ashgate, Aldershot
2002, 119.
78
In the closing years of his life, however, Stanford returned to Novello for the publication of some short
anthems, the most lastingly successful of them being How beauteous are their feet (1923).
79
The establishment of Stainer & Bell in 1907launched Novello's closest rival in this field. In the early
years of the twentieth century Curwen also built up a sizeable catalogue of choral music: an article in
Musical Opinion (MO), August 1923, 1075, one of a series on 'Popular Editions', devotes itselfto the
Curwen Edition, listing 25 contemporary composers, including Stanford, Walford Davies, Holst, Ireland
and Vaughan Williams, whose works appeared in the catalogue.
80
See New Grove Dictionary, 2nd ed. 2001, vol.3, 885.
81
· Boosey also·published most of Stanford's opeta8 and reprints of choral works originally issued by
other firms, e.g. the Elegiac Ode and The Three Holy Children.
82
Thomas Chappell (1819-1902) expanded the firm, and played a leading role in the fight against
musical piracy - a cause also vigorously supported by Stanford - and influencing the effective Copyright
Act of 1906. See New Grove Dictionary, 2° ed. 2001, vol.5, 492.
 36

Robert Cocks (1798-1887) established his London music publishing firm in 1823,

and the business continued in the family until 1904. As well as an involvement in

concert management and the publication of over 16,000 works, Cocks managed a large

circulating library and issued cheap scores of oratorios, and it was these aspects of the

firm's work that had the greatest impact upon the world of choral music. 83

Stanley Lucas, Weber & Co. was a business whose high-minded aspirations for the

publication of good quality serious music could not be sustained, in the prevailing

crowded music-publishing market, for more than twenty years (1873-93). Stanford's

Elegiac Ode and The Three Holy Children were first published by this firm.

The English firm of Augener began in 1853 as importers of music, and from 1867

produced cheap editions of the classics, together with modem works, in the Augener

Edition. Although the firm was not particularly noted for choral music, its house

journal, Monthly Musical Record (1871-1960), earned a considerable reputation for

coverage of musical life and events around the country. Augener absorbed the business

of Robert Cocks in 1904. 84

In 1907 a group of London-based musicians and musically-minded businessmen

established in Bemers Street a new firm, called (at random) Stainer and Bell, with the

express purpose of publishing new music - choral and instrumental - by English

composers. 85 The new venture quickly established a reputation, and from its beginning

published numerous sheet editions of choral music in series such as the Choral Library,

Church Choir Library, Modem Church Services and Unison Songs. The firm was

ideally suited to Stanford's needs at this time, and he gave the firm his full support,

assisting in the search for financial investment in its first years. From 1908 onwards

83
New Grove Dictionary, 2nd ed. 2001, vo1.6, 79.
84
Ibid., vol.2, 168.
85
Richard Walthew, a former pupil of Parry, was a founder member of the board, and the singer Harry
Plunket Greene, a close associate of Stanford and Parry's son-in-law, joined within a year.
 37

most of Stanford's smaller-scale choral pieces were published by Stainer and Bell. The

connection continued after his death with some posthumously published anthems,

including the most dramatic work for church choir in his entire output- For lo, I raise

up (1939). It is highly likely, moreover, that the firm's decision to publish works by

Holst, Vaughan Williams, and other former Stanford pupils was in some degree due to

the older man's influence. 86

Stanford was unceasing in his efforts to gain fair treatment from publishers, not only

for himself but for others, and here his belligerent nature often proved advantageous. In

1904 he almost bullied fellow musicians, including Elgar, into supporting a Musical

Defence League for the purpose of lobbying Parliament for a change in the law. The

result was the Copyright Act of 1906, which secured more advantageous terms and

rights for composers. 87 He would have been additionally heartened by the passing of a

further Copyright Act in 1911 and by the formation ofthe Performing Right Society in

1914.

The condition ofCathedral and Collegiate music in the Victorian and Edwardian era

The existence, in the cathedrals of England, of often ancient endowments and statutes

making provision for the maintenance of daily choral services with professional choirs

and organists did not of itself guarantee excellence of musical standards. The general

malaise in the Church of England during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries

affected cathedrals as much as parish churches: untidy, neglected buildings and services

conducted in a slovenly manner were features to be found everywhere. A general

complacency in matters of ritual combined with a taste for lengthy sermons meant that

86
Dibble, Stanford, 383-4; New Grove Dictionary, 2nd ed. 2001, vol.24, 262-3.
87
Dibble, Stanford, 339-41. Stanford also waded in to the debate concerning the financial plight of
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's family following his premature death in 1912. See Dibble, 400 and Rodmell,
Stanford, 276-8.
 38

musical considerations were often side-lined to the point where such music as there

was, even in cathedrals, was of a poor and unworthy standard. 88 Even misappropriation

of the fmancial provisions for cathedral music was by no means unknown. 89

The large number of surviving eye-(and ear-)witness accounts from the period

present a generally dismal account of the state of cathedral music, making it clear that it

was certainly not before the last decades of the nineteenth century that any widespread

improvement took place. Reports of gabbled, untidy psalm singing,90 poor attendance

or unpunctuality of lay-clerks, bad behaviour (of lay-clerks and choristers) during

services, filthy and tom surplices, lack of processions in and out of services, and

numerous other failings are all too frequent. 91

Poor standards were, moreover, not restricted to provincial cathedrals, but were also

to be found in the capital: the music at both St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey

left a great deal to be desired until the 1870s and 80s. 92

In the earlier decades of the nineteenth century, standards of musical performance

were hampered not only by lack of rehearsal, but also by the absence of proper

planning. 93 The earliest surviving cathedral music list -a handwritten one -is to be

found at Hereford and shows the service music for two weeks in August 1851.94 It was

to be another two decades or more before printed cathedral music lists became at all

widespread.

88
Rainbow, Choral Revival, 204, 245-6 etc. gives details of considerable variations in musical standards
from one cathedral to another.
89
Nicholas Temperley, 'Cathedral Music', Blackwell History, vol.5, 171.
90
The first reported use of a pointed psalter was at Ely in 1837. For further information on haphazard
and unrehearsed psalm-singing see Temperley, 'Cathedral Music', 176-7; Philip Barrett, Barchester,
English Cathedral Life in the Nineteenth Century, SPCK, London 1993, 149-150.
91
Barrett, Barchester, 115-215; Rainbow, Choral Revival, 243-262.
92 - -~---- -- ---- - - -- - - ' - --- ---- ,.-- -- - '-- - - ---
See Barrett, Barchester, xlii & 173 and Temperlt~y, 'Cathe<fral Music', 172.
93
Salisbury was one of several cathedrals where the music was chosen actually during the service. Such
a system precluded any possibility of rehearsal and enforced a very limited repertoire. See Barrett,
Barchester, 151.
94
Reproduced in Barrett, Barchester, between 236 & 237.
 39

Cathedral choir repertoire in the earlier nineteenth century was dominated by verse

anthems and services, mostly from the eighteenth century. Prevailing taste favoured the

solo voice, and many cathedral lay-clerks thought ofthemselves primarily as soloists.

The result was that in many cathedrals, especially at Sunday Evensong, the music could

be more suggestive of the opera-house than of a solemn church service. 95 As the

century wore on, the emphasis on verse music declined, though more choruses from

oratorios were introduced. Much of the new church music written in the latter decades

of the century was intended primarily for the parish church market, although gradually

more contemporary music found its way into cathedral repertoires. 96

One of the first to identify an urgent need for reform in cathedral music was Maria

Hackett (1783 -1874), a determined lady who devoted her life to visiting cathedrals

throughout the country and pressing for improvements to the welfare and education of

choristers and in the conduct of services. 97

In the 1830s and 40s others joined the fray, notably John Peace,98 John Jebb,99 S.S.

Wesley, 100 and Frederick Ouseley. 101 Of these four, Wesley, the only practising

cathedral musician, was perhaps the most outspoken, arguing for far-sighted reforms to

make the business of cathedral music a truly worthy and rewarding profession. 102

95
Barrett, Barchester, 178-9; Rainbow, Choral Revival, 245-6; Stanford, in Pages, 36-8, describes his
boyhood experiences (in the 1850s and 60s) at St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. Later in life, Stanford
found himself battling against the remnants of a similarly solo-orientated repertoire, with contributions
from lay-clerks long past their best, at Trinity College, Cambridge.
96
Hand-written part-books and the printed eighteenth century collections by Boyce and others remained
in regular cathedral use for many years, and in a few places (Durham amongst them) were still in
occasional use as late as the 1950s, 60s and early 70s. Such late usage at Durham is verified by Alan
Thurlow, assistant cathedral organist in the 1970s.
97
Already at work (at St Paul's) in 1811, she remained an influential figure for several decades. See
Barrett, Barchester, 197.
98
'Apology for Cathedral Service' (1839), summarized in Rainbow, Choral Revival, 246-51.
99
'The ChomlService ofthe Church' (1843), summarized inRainbow, Choral Revival, 252-3.
100
S.S. Wesley, A Few Words on Cathedral Music, London & Leeds 1849.
101
Finally and most notably with the foundation ofOuseley's model college for Cathedral Music at St
Michael's, Tenbury Wells in 1856.
102
Barrett, Barchester, 177-8.
 40

The appointments at St Paul's of Canon (later Dean) Robert Gregory (1868) and

John Stainer (organist from 1872) marked the beginning of an era of reform in English

cathedrals. The great improvements achieved within a decade by Stainer and Gregory in

the conduct and music of the services at St Paul's were soon to be emulated in many

provincial cathedrals. 103 Choirs were strengthened in numbers, choir schools improved,

lay-clerks' pay increased, repertoire expanded to include a wider range of music,

including newly written anthems and settings, the music more adequately rehearsed, and

cathedral services conducted in a more seemly and dignified way, with clean-surpliced

singers and clergy processing to and from their stalls, responses properly intoned, and

psalms sung from pointed psalters. 104 At St Paul's it was Precentor Simpson's

determination to encourage young composers for the church by giving their works a

hearing that assisted Stanford in his early years. 105 Simpson was, moreover, a devotee

of octavo choral editions, and equipped the St Paul's music library with a large quantity

of new copies, replacing worn out folio and part-book editions. 106

The College Chapels at Oxford and Cambridge had suffered a period of neglect

perhaps even more acute than the cathedrals, for in many cases the ancient provision for

choral services had become totally ignored, chapel services being read, either in an

undignified gabble or in a desultory and lethargic manner. Since daily attendance at

services was compulsory for all undergraduates, a large percentage of whom would

eventually become ordained priests, such a situation was serious in that it set a

103
Timothy Storey, The Music o[St Paul's Cathedra/1872-1972, unpublished University of Durham
MMus. Thesis, 1998, gives a detailed account of the reforms achieved at St Paul's by Gregory, Stainer
and W. Sparrow Simpson (Precentor).
104
Barrett, Barchester, 166-215 gives numerous examples ofthe laxity in choirs ofthe mid-century and
of the many strenuous efforts at improvement in later decades.
at
IOLStanford's'B~ flat Sei'Vice was perfoii:D.ed complete Sf Paul's in January 1880, a mere six months
after its publication, the A major Evening Service was commissioned for the Sons of Clergy Festival in
May 1880, and several of Stanford's later anthems and settings were taken into the St Paul's repertoire
very soon after appearing in print.
106
Storey, Music ofSt Paul's, 56.
 41

deplorable example - so much so that many of those present resorted to 'preparing

lectures' during services to relieve their boredom. 107

At Oxford three choral foundations had survived intact into the nineteenth century.

At Christ Church, with its unique dual function as both college chapel and cathedral, the

appalling state of the music during Thomas Gaisford's years as Dean (1831-55) led

many to regard its choir as amongst the worst in the country. Of the other two college

choirs in the 1840s, Magdalen had been under the care of Walter Vicary since 1797. By

the 1840s he was past his prime and standards had slipped. New College had perhaps

the best maintained choir in Oxford at this time, run by Stephen Elvey, though here, as

at Christ Church and Magdalen, the behaviour of the boys apparently left much to be

desired. 108

The condition of music in the Oxford college chapels began a slow process of

improvement only following John Stainer's appointment as organist of Magdalen in

1860. As he was later to do at St Paul's, Stainer immediately insisted upon regular

practices for the lay-clerks, overhauled the repertoire, and, with his combination of

personal charm and determination, raised standards considerably within a relatively

short period. After his move to St Paul's in 1872, his successor Walter Parratt

continued the quest for the highest standards. 109

Within the University of Cambridge there was a roughly similar situation in the

1840s and early 1850s. As at Oxford, most of the colleges had neglected their ancient

provisions for choral services, and the three surviving choral foundations were to be

found at King's, Trinity and St John's. Although King's College had its own treble

107
Rainbow, Choral Revival, 201-2.
108
Ibid., 202-10.
109
Peter Charlton, John Stainer and the Musical Life of Victorian Britain, David & Charles, Newton
Abbot and London 1984,22-25.
 42

choristers, Trinity and St John's shared the same boys, and all three colleges were

served by the same six lay-clerks, some of them elderlyY 0

The Trinity and St John's choirs were both run by Walmisley until his death in

1856, and as a result of his energy, kindliness and excellent musicianship, the standard

of singing in these two colleges was relatively good, although the effects of the

choristers having to move quickly on a Sunday from one college to another for a

lengthy round of services could hardly have been beneficial. Walmisley himself had to

officiate at seven services each Sunday, running between his two colleges and the

University Church.

At King's College, however, under the 'infirm and tyrannical' organist John Pratt, a

far worse situation is described by Adelmann, quoting at some length from two eye-

witness accounts, and concluding that 'the much-vaunted music at King's in 1842,3 was

radically bad' . 111

Despite Pratt's increasing reliance on deputies, he retained his post at King's until

his death in 1855. His successor, William Amps, was not a strong character, moreover,

and sweeping improvements at King's did not occur until the appointment of Arthur H.

Mann as organist in the 1870s. After Walmisley's death in 1856, the choirs of Trinity

and StJohn's were separated. During the long tenure of George Garrett (1857-97), the

St John's choir was able to establish its own tradition with an increased number of

services in its splendid new chapel. At Trinity, John Larkin Hopkins embarked upon a

similar course, establishing the newly independent college choir, rebuilding the organ,

and instituting regular series of organ recitals. These arrangements were continued by

Stanford when he succeeded Hopkins in 1873. Inheriting several worn-out lay-clerks,

110
Rainbow, ChorarReviva/, 206-7; Adelmann, Cambridge Ecc/esiologists, 34, quotes ah article
(probably by Benjamin Webb) from The Ecc/esio/ogist, September 1843, which describes the situation at
Cambridge as 'disgraceful' with 'a few miserable and effete singers running from choir to choir'.
111
Adelmann, Cambridge Ecc/esio/ogists, 48-9, quoting from W.E. Dickson, Fifty Years ofChurch
Music, Ely 1894, and T. Case, Memoirs of a King's College Chorister, Cambridge 1889.
 43

Stanford negotiated pensions for them with the college authorities, enabling him to

appoint younger, fresher voices. 112 Gradually, too, choral services were revived in other

Oxford and Cambridge colleges, though sometimes on an unpaid basis, with

undergraduates supplying the music. The notion of undergraduate choral scholars

slowly took root in one college after another, though lay-clerks were employed in the

principal collegiate choral foundations for several decades to come.

The reform and improvement of choral services in the college chapels of Oxford and

Cambridge became, at Cambridge in particular, a matter of great and immediate concern

to those clergy and theological students involved in the Ecclesiological Movement from

the early 1840s onwards. In 1853 an article in the Edinburgh Review had drawn

attention to the discrepancy between 'dormant' cathedrals and 'revitalised' parish

churches. The slowness of change, both here and in the cathedrals - lagging several

years behind the vigorous reforms in parish churches - is, however, accounted for quite

simply. In Bernarr Rainbow's words:

The fruits of the Oxford Movement were first carried beyond the confines of the University as young,
newly-ordained curates applied the Movement's practical influence to their first incumbencies. It was
thus for many years in the urban or rural parish - rather than the cathedral - that direct impact was felt. ...
[Cathedrals] had often perforce to wait the appointment of new residentiaries whose earlier experience as
parish priests had persuaded them of the merit of such reform as they sought to introduce in their new
spheres of office. 113

By the fmal decade of the century, the quality of cathedral and collegiate choirs had

radically improved, choir schools were better run, lay-clerks could more readily be

pensioned off, and repertoires were greatly enlarged. Not everything was quite as it

could have been, however, and Stanford gave eloquent voice to the concerns of many a

cathedral and collegiate organist in a paper read to the Church Congress of 1899. 114 His

main concerns were the absence from service lists of sufficient good music of earlier

centuries, and too great a prominence of contemporary music of poor quality and
112
Stanford himself tells an amusing anecdote concerning this process in Pages, 131-2.
113
Rainbow, Choral Revival, 259-60.
114
Reprinted in Charles V. Stanford, Studies and Memories, Constable, London 1908,61-9 as 'Music in
Cathedral and Church Choirs'.
 44

foreign music not suitable for the Anglican liturgy. This, he contended, was the

unfortunate result of the power invested in precentors to have sole charge of choosing

the music to be sung. He argued his case well, and quite possibly caused many a dean

and chapter, or college master, to consider his words carefully.

That the nineteenth century was one of sweeping changes and rapid developments in

every aspect of British life has long been recognised. The purpose of this present

chapter has been to demonstrate the enormous extent of this spirit of development in the

sphere of choral music. It has been seen that musical developments came most quickly

where there was little or no tradition upon which to build. It was, indeed, in cathedral

music, where a venerable tradition existed, dating back several centuries, that change

took place most slowly. Radical change and improvement came at last even here,

however, and the close of the nineteenth century saw a level of choral activity

throughout Britain, much of it of a high quality, infinitely greater than at any previous

period in history. The Victorian obsession with self-improvement was as marked in the

sphere of music as in any other aspect of daily life.

 45

Chapter Two

The Press and Musical Criticism, c.1840-c.1925

Before commencing an examination of press reaction to Stanford's choral music it is

necessary to make a brief investigation of the enormous growth of journalism and the

vast expansion in the number of newspapers and journals published during the

nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This chapter seeks to provide some

background information on most, if not all of the sources from which material referring

to Stanford's choral music has been selected. The development of musical journalism

in particular provides a focus for attention, and the chapter concludes with a brief

evaluation ofthe qualities of some ofthe more prominent critics of Stanford's music.

The rapid expansion ofthe press and journalism

'The news' as we understand it is a nineteenth-century creation. 1

If one were forced to encapsulate in a single short sentence the enormous expansion and

development of journalism during the Victorian era, Lucy Brown's definition in the

introduction to her 1985 study ofthe subject could hardly be bettered.

Although the closing decades of the eighteenth century had seen the establishment

of several daily newspapers, including the Morning Chronicle (1770), the Morning Post

(1772), the Morning Herald (1781) and, most significantly, The Times (1788), that

'great representative of journalistic dignity, power and ... mystery', 2 readership was

limited to the literate and better-off classes. The repeal, during the 1850s, of various

taxes on publication and paper made a sudden and dramatic change in the fortunes of

the press. The most significant single event was the abolition of the newspaper stamp

1
Lucy Brown, Victorian News and Newspapers, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1985, I.
2
J.D. Symon, The Press and its Story, Seeley, Service & Co., London 1914, 166.
 46

duty in 1855.3 This paved the way for the introduction of fresh newspapers at a price

cheap enough for the less well-off to afford, and the 'penny press' was born. Moreover,

as the century progressed, advances in education provided ever greater numbers of

literate men and women - all of them potential purchasers of daily newspapers.

Of the newer papers, the Daily News was founded in 1846, shortly before the

reforms of the 1850s, under Charles Dickens as editor. The Daily Telegraph, destined

to gain, by the end ofthe century, the largest readership of any daily paper,4 followed in

1855, together with the Clerkenwell News and Daily Chronicle (renamed simply Daily
5
Chronicle following a change of ownership in 1877), both papers selling at one penny.

The Pall Mall Gazette, its title inspired by Thackeray, first appeared in 1865 and

was, from the first, a daily evening paper 'written by gentlemen for gentlemen' .6 By

1860 there were in London nine morning and six evening daily papers (three of them

selling at a penny), while the provinces had sixteen dailies, sixteen papers published

twice weekly and one (the Leeds Mercury) which appeared three times a week. By the

1880s the total number of daily papers throughout the country had increased to about

one hundred and fifty. 7 During the second half of the century newspapers became an

established 'part of the normal furniture of life for all classes', implying the ownership

of a daily paper by almost every household in the country. 8 Some papers were issued in

the morning, some in the early evening, a few twice a day, but evening papers were

often lighter and more relaxed in style than morning ones. 9 As the number and

circulation of newspapers increased, their content also expanded to reflect the widening

3
Ibid., 277-89 and Dennis Griffiths, Fleet Street: Five Hundred Years ofthe Press, The British Library,
London 2006,92-113 give detailed accounts ofthese reforms, while James Curran and Jean Seaton,
Power without Responsibility, sixth edition, Routledge, London 2003, 18-22 provides a shorter
commentary.
4
Brown, Victorian News, 52 gives the DTel readership in 1888 as 300,000.
5
Symon, The Press, 186-206.
6
Ibid., 146~151; also Griffiths, Fleet Street, 114-9.
7
Brown, Victorian News, 4.
8
Ibid., 273.
9
'the one is ... for the man going to work, the other essentially for the man whose day's work is done'.
See Symon, The Press, 141.
 47

standards of literacy and range of interests amongst readers. This came increasingly to

include coverage of events in the fields of art, literature, drama and music.

Alongside this great expansion of activity in provision of daily reportage of news

and events the Victorian era saw an even more remarkable proliferation of weekly,

fortnightly and monthly journals. Intended for more leisurely, recreational reading,

such publications catered for an enormous range of interests, perhaps the majority of

them being aimed at a particular select readership. 10

For the purposes of this present study it is but a tiny proportion of this deluge of

journals which will be of interest: those publications which dealt either solely with

musical matters, or with the arts in general. Chief among the general arts journals for

consideration here will be the Saturday Review, the Fortnightly Review, and, most

prominently, the Athenaeum, for two of them published both general articles on musical

subjects and detailed reviews of particular concerts or works, whilst the Fortnightly

Review published, during the 1890s, several musical articles of a controversial nature.

The most significant of the musical journals was The Musical Times (established

1842), but also of considerable importance for their reviewing of concerts and

publications were Musical World, Musical Standard, Musical News and Musical

Opinion. The basic nature and content of these will be examined in due course.

Coverage ofmusic in the daily press

Most of the Victorian daily papers developed some form of critical coverage of the arts,

some on an occasional basis, but others more regularly. Some papers employed one

critic to cover two or more fields (art, drama, music), but the larger and more

prestigious papers came to engage separate critics for each area of the arts, and a few,

10
The eventual sheer number of these journals- at least 50,000 according to a 1978 estimate -elicited
from Christopher Kent the comment that 'Victorian Britain was above all a journalizing society'. See
Christopher Kent, Introductory chapter to British Literary Magazines - The Victorian and Edwardian
Age, ed. Alvin Sullivan, Greenwood Press, Connecticut and London 1985, xiii.
 48

such as The Times and the Daily Telegraph in London, and the Manchester Guardian,

Yorkshire Post, and Birmingham Post in the provinces, employed regular salaried

critics. The chief music critic of a paper, once appointed, was generally free to choose

his own assistant(s).

One noteworthy general feature of Victorian journalism, affecting music and arts

coverage just as much as any other area, was the consistency of linguistic style in

otherwise very different papers. 11 Another convention of the period - persisting in many

cases well into the twentieth century - was that of anonymity amongst journalists.

Although initials or pseudonyms were occasionally used, signed columns and articles

were rare, making the attribution of material to specific writers in many cases

problematic, and sometimes impossible. 12 The chief music critics of the more

significant papers can often be identified from other contemporary sources, 13 but the

names of assistant critics can be somewhat more elusive. 14

Before the middle of the nineteenth century, The Times was firmly established as the

most widely read and most influential English daily newspaper - a position it retained

until eclipsed in terms of numerical readership by the Daily Telegraph during the
15
1850s. The paper, known colloquially as 'The Thunderer', earned its nickname by

taking a strong line on important issues of the day, such as Irish Home Rule, and

'thundered' also in its promotion of English music during the Victorian period. The

Times maintained a regular coverage of music throughout the later decades of the

Victorian era, reporting, with few exceptions, all major concerts, musical festivals and

operas, reviews invariably appearing within forty-eight hours. Music was regarded as

11
Brown, Victorian News, 100-102.
12
Ibid,, 3 and Kent, Introduction to British Literary Magazines, xix.
13
Joseph Bennett's autobiographical Forty Years of Music, 1865-1905, Methuen, London 1908, is a mine
of such information, albeit of somewhat suspect accuracy, especially regarding exact dates.
14
Appendix III gives a list of music critics listed by journal, compiled from various sources.
15
Brown, Victorian News, 52 gives 1861 readership of the two papers as follows: DTel 141,700;
T 65,000.
 49

an essential ingredient in the paper's format, with a generous allocation of column

space, enabling lengthy and detailed treatment of individual works when deemed

necessary. 16 Although its long-serving music critic James Davison (1846-78) 'elevated

the craft of music journalism', 17 he lived to see few of the mature works of the Parry,

Mackenzie and Stanford generation, but his successors at The Times - Hueffer and

Fuller Maitland - provided much thoughtful and useful commentary on the productions

ofthe 'Parry Group' (so-called by some contemporaries). 18

From its very beginnings in 1855 the Daily Telegraph set out to address a mass

audience with a popular and readable broadsheet paper, selling at one penny. By the

1860s it had developed its own journalistic style (known as 'Telegraphese'). The

'sparkle and vigour of its style' gave it a unique character and helped it towards its

domination of the newspaper market. 19 The Daily Telegraph became of great

importance to the development of the English Musical Renaissance by virtue of its

position as the largest-selling quality daily from the late 1850s onwards, and had as its

music critic from 1870 to 1906 the redoubtable Joseph Bennett, whose sympathies

were, in the main, sympathetic towards the aims of the 'Renaissance' group of

composers. So conscientious, indeed, was Bennett, and so generous of space his paper,

that important first performances of English works were sometimes given advance

attention in substantial articles based upon careful study of a score and, where possible,

attendance at one or more rehearsals. Several of Stanford's major choral works were

treated in this way.

The oldest of the papers surveyed here, The Morning Post had, in the early years of

the nineteenth century, established a reputation for literary excellence - Lamb,

16
Meirion Hughes, The English Musical Renaissance and the Press 1850-1914: Watchmen of Music,
Ashgate, Alders hot 2002, 13-14.
17
Ibid., 14.
18
Robert Stradling & Meirion Hughes, The English Musical Renaissance 1840-1940, 2nd edition,
Manchester University Press, Manchester 2002, 54.
19
Hughes, English Musical Renaissance and the Press, 42.
 50

Coleridge, Southey and Wordsworth all being regular or occasional contributors. Later

°
in the century it also became known for its treatment of foreign news. 2 From the 1840s

The Morning Post, once described as an 'organ of the aristocracy and the fashionable

world', established a worthy tradition of music criticism, first with the critic Charles

Gruneisen (1844-67), and subsequently with his successors William Barrett (1867-91)

and Arthur Hervey (1892-1908). 21 Column space was generous, and all major concerts

and festivals were covered.

The Daily News had, in its early days under the editorship of Charles Dickens,

pioneered the newspaper supplement devoted to some important current issue.

Dickens's time as editor was brief, but he did leave an enduring legacy to the paper of a

generous and sympathetic coverage of literature, and this influence spread to the sphere

of music. Following a reduction of its price to one penny in 1868, the circulation of the

paper increased rapidly, reaching over 70,000 copies daily by the early 1870s?2 In the

final decades of the century the coverage of music was fairly generous, most major

concerts being reported. In one or two instances, too, advance information of works,

including some by Stanford, was given from the evidence of a rehearsal. During the

first years of the new century, the paper's music critic, Edward Baughan, wrote articles

in support of Elgar_23

Coming into existence somewhat later than the papers mentioned so far, the Daily

Chronicle was 'famous for large-heartedness', always supporting the oppressed and

alive to new developments. Despite ample coverage of such events as the Dockers'

Strike in 1889, and the Greco-Turkish war, it never allowed items such as book reviews

20
Symon, The Pres.v, 182-4.
21
Hughes, English Musical Renaissance and the Press, 66.
22
Symon, The Press, 186-95; Griffiths, Fleet Street, 85, says of the Daily News under Dickens: 'From
the outset, costs were deemed secondary, and a large staff, with corresponding salaries, was engaged'.
The paper made a highly successful beginning.
23
Hughes, English Musical Renaissance and the Press, 176.
 51

to be crowded out.24 In the closing decades of the Victorian period its coverage of

musical events was fairly generous, carrying reviews of most important concerts,

sometimes at length. In common with the Daily Telegraph and Daily News, new works,

again including some by Stanford, were occasionally previewed either from a score or

from a rehearsal.

The Pall Mall Gazette, a daily paper designed for the more refmed and educated

classes, and often, indeed, carrying quotations in Greek, 25 naturally carried articles

dealing in depth with important current issues and affairs. Its arts coverage was also

generous in space and searching in quality, and most of its reviews of musical events

are substantial. George Grove secured for J.A. Fuller Maitland his first journalistic post

on the paper as music critic (1880-84), and he and his successors Hugh Haweis (1884- ?)

and Vernon Blackburn ( 1893-1907) were anxious to support the development of new

English music. Blackburn in particular became an ardent Elgarian. 26

Last of the London daily papers to be noted here is the Daily Graphic. Set apart

from its fellows by carrying illustrations in the form of line drawings, the Daily Graphic

was one of a number of illustrated papers, and was established some time after its sister

paper, the Graphic- a weekly paper founded in 1869. The Daily Graphic represented

'the first attempt in England to carry on a daily pictorial chronicle of current events'

(my italics). Its illustrations were 'powerful pen and ink sketches that made little

pretence to finish'. 27 Despite the brevity of some of its news articles, it sometimes

reported at reasonable length on artistic subjects including music. There are some

24
See Symon, The Press, 203-5. Griffiths, Fleet Street, 107-8, describing editor Edward Lloyd as the
'fatiJ.~r
of the cheap press', states that under his guidance the paper became 'a great and prosperous
journal'.
25
Symon, The Press, 149.
26
Hughes, English Musical Renaissance and the Press, 174.
27
The paper aimed at 'giving in small compass all the news of the day', but nevertheless earned a
reputation for its excellent reportage offoreign news. See Symon, The Press, 235-6.
 52

substantial reviews of concerts, and the Birmingham premiere of Stanford's Eden was

awarded a brief preview from the final rehearsal.

Although many of the London daily papers reported diligently upon major musical

events both in the capital and around the country, the overwhelming majority of first

performances of Stanford's largest and most significant choral works took place at

provincial festivals, especially those in Birmingham and Leeds. It is therefore necessary

to examine briefly the principal newspapers for these two major provincial cities.

The Birmingham Daily Post, generally regarded as the most significant of the city's

three daily newspapers, was adapted from a weekly journal into a daily penny paper in

1857, dropping the word 'Daily' from its title at a later stage. 28 By the 1870s it was

providing arts criticism on a regular basis, Stephen Stratton serving as music critic for

nearly thirty years (1877-1906). Birmingham Festivals were reported in great detail,

with first performances, including Stanford's two oratorios and the Requiem, attracting

prime attention.

Birmingham's other two daily papers, the Birmingham Daily Gazette and

Birmingham Daily Mail, although less well known nationally, both gave special

coverage to Birmingham Festival events, providing substantial reviews, particularly for

new works, including those by Stanford.

The elder of Yorkshire's two great newspapers, the Leeds Mercury, came into

existence as early as 1720, making that city one of the earliest in the provinces to have
29
its own paper. A long-established and highly regarded paper by the 1870s, its reports

on important national and international events carried some authority, and coverage of

the arts was of some significance. Musical events in a wide surrounding area were

reported, but special treatment was reserved for the Leeds Festivals, where new works

were given substantial reviews, and first performances were often previewed as well,
28
Ibid., 160.
29
Ibid., 156.
 53

either from score or from rehearsal. Stanford's Leeds premieres received fulsome

treatment.

The Yorkshire Post was a much younger paper, founded by a group of 'North-

°
Riding squires' in 1886 as a rival to the Leeds Mercury. 3 Covering the news in similar

depth to its rival, the Yorkshire Post also developed regular arts coverage of a good

standard. Herbert Thompson, the paper's music critic from its inception, served it for

half a century (1886-1936), providing extensive cover of Leeds Festivals. Stanford's

Stabat Mater, first performed at the 1907 Festival, received exceptional treatment from

Thompson, who published a detailed analysis of the score and a report of a London

rehearsal prior to the first performance in Leeds.

One other great newspaper, the Manchester Guardian, warrants attention, for in the

years following its foundation in 1821 it gained a formidable reputation and a pre-

eminent position amongst provincial papers, revealing what has been described as the

'Oxford manner'- an enlightened, refined and highly educated direction from its editor

and staff. 31 It commanded respect for its coverage of the arts, including authoritative

book reviews and music criticism of a high standard from Arthur Johnstone (1896-

1904) and his successors Ernest Newman (1905-6) and Samuel Langford (1906-27).

J.A. Fuller Maitland was London critic for the paper between 1884 and 1889, and

Neville Cardus became assistant music critic for a ten-year period from 1917. As it

happens, however, there was never a significant first performance of a Stanford choral

work in the city, and surprisingly few performances of any of his music. The

importance of the Manchester Guardian to the present study is therefore very limited.

The Cambridge newspapers were of some significance for Stanford's music during

his years of residence in the city, though after his move to London and his resignation

from the conductorship of the University Musical Society following the Jubilee
30
Ibid., 159.
31
Ibid., 157-9.
 54

celebrations of 1893, his music was only occasionally mentioned in the Cambridge

press, and then generally in connection with a Cambridge performance. The Cambridge

papers appear to have attempted no regular or detailed coverage of musical events in the

country as a whole, and even local concerts were sometimes given little column space.

The two principal sources for information on musical activity in the city and university

were the Cambridge Chronicle and University Reporter - a daily publication which

attempted to cover all aspects of town and gown life - and the Cambridge Review,

described as 'A Journal of University Life and Thought' and published weekly during

university term only, beginning in the autumn of 1879. This latter journal was

impressive in its comprehensiveness, and a generous coverage of sporting activities

rubbed shoulders with articles of academic interest, including lecture schedules and

meetings of various clubs and societies. 'College Correspondence' listed scholarships

and fellowships, general college information, and obituaries. Other regular features

were 'University Intelligence', 'University Pulpit' and 'Paper Knife', a section devoted

to book reviews. 32 Despite the brevity of some of its concert notices, the Cambridge

Review does contain a fair amount of useful information concerning Stanford's

activities with CUMS,33 and it also possesses another valuable feature, for it published

the weekly music lists for the chapels of King's, Trinity and St John's colleges. Just

very occasionally, another local paper would carry a worthwhile concert review, as, for

example, an account of A.H. Mann's June 1898 performance of Stanford's Requiem in

King's College Chapel (in the Cambridge Examiner), and a report of the special service

in King's Chapel on 16 June 1920 including part of Stanford's Via Victrix Mass (in the

Cambridge Daily News).

32
Sullivan (ed.), British Literary Magazines- The Victorian and Edwardian Age, 55-7.
33
Rodmell, Stanford, 74-156 makes numerous references to articles and reviews in the paper.
 55

The national weekly journals

Amongst the vast number of weekly journals referred to earlier in this chapter, the

Athenaeum gained, within three or four years of its inception in 1828, a pre-eminent

position, surpassing its rivals in the depth and breadth of its coverage of its named

subjects - literature, art and science. Its early success was due to the vision and

enterprise of its first owner/editor, Charles Dilke. Reaching a peak of circulation (at

about 18,000 copies per week) in the late 1830s, it held its leading position for several

decades to come, not merely for the quality of its journalism, but also for its broad range

of subject matter. The journal changed little over the years, and a typical issue of mid-

century (price 4d) would consist of either twenty-four or thirty-two pages, one third of

which contained advertisements. The 'Reviews' section dominated, with about eight

pages; general features occupied a couple of pages; 'Our Weekly Gossip' a further two;

'Fine Arts' one page; 'Music and the Drama' about two pages; and 'Miscellanea' about

one page. The final years of the century saw the beginnings of a slow but steady decline,

however, and by the outbreak of war in 1914 the Athenaeum was but a shadow of its

former self. It finally amalgamated with the Nation in 1921. 34 Music criticism had

early on become an essential and valued ingredient in the weekly content of the

Athenaeum in the hands of Henry Chorley (1833-68), who established full and regular

coverage of musical events as well as general articles on musical subjects. His

successors, Campbell Clarke, Charles Gruneisen, and Ebenezer Prout, continued his

high standard of musical journalism. These men, moreover, like Chorley, rarely

employed deputies, covering a wide range of musical events themselves, although Prout

did engage Henry Frost, probably to cover those concerts where the chief critic, a man

of strong views, felt himself particularly out of sympathy with the musical content.

After Prout's departure from the paper in 1898, however, the music columns gradually
34
Alvin Sullivan (ed.), British Literary Magazines- The Romantic Age, Greenwood Press, Connecticut
and London 1984, 21-3; Hughes, English Musical Renaissance and the Press, 65-6.
 56

35
declined in both quality and quantity in the hands of Frost and John Shedlock.

Despite this eventual falling off in quality, the Athenaeum rarely missed an important

concert or festival, and is a source of some worthwhile commentary upon new works,

including those of the 'Parry Group', well into the Edwardian era.

Perhaps the closest rival to the Athenaeum amongst the literary journals finally

arrived with the establishment of the Saturday Review in 1855. 36 The journal's aims

were partly explained in its full title: the Saturday Review of Politics, Literature,

Science, and Art, and it set out to be a periodical 'not bound by party ... and to be the

mouthpiece of moderate opinions of thoughtful and educated society'. 37 The Saturday

Review 'scorned the correspondence and gossip features of the Spectator and filled its

columns exclusively with full-scale articles . . . dealing with subjects from British

foreign policy to critiques of individual poems by Tennyson' ?8 In common with the

Athenaeum, the Saturday Review regularly carried a 'music' or 'recent concerts'

column, reporting most major concerts in London and the provinces, and occasionally

reviewing scores - the second set of Stanford's Elizabethan Pastorals being one

example. With the arrival of the colourful John Runciman as music critic in 1896,

however, the policy changed, and concert reviews were abandoned in favour of regular

substantial articles on musical subjects. 39

Other leading literary journals did not regard music as a priority, but the Fortnightly

Review (established 1865 through the efforts of Anthony Trollope and others), whilst

never reviewing concerts and giving greatest prominence to politics and international

affairs, did, under the editorship of Frank Harris (1886-94), take some interest in

35
Hughes, English Musical Renaissance and the Press, 66-8, 76-81.
36
Founded bytlie wealthy Cambridge-educated ecclesiologist and Member of Parliament, A.J. Beresford
Hope. See Adelmann, Cambridge Ecclesiologists, 115-123.
37
Ibid., 122.
38
Sullivan (ed.), British Literary Magazines- The Victorian and Edwardian Age, 319.
39
Hughes, English Musical Renaissance and the Press, 83.
 57

40
musical developments, publishing occasional articles by prominent musical figures.

Three such articles were contributed by Stanford: substantial essays on Parry's Judith

(1888) and Verdi's Falstaff (1893) and a third entitled 'Some aspects of Musical

Criticism in England' (1894). This last article, in which Stanford made suggestions for

improving the lot of critics and standards of criticism, prompted a further article soon

afterwards in the same journal, entitled 'Musical Criticism and the Critics'. In this

essay- more than twice the length of Stanford's at fourteen pages- John Runciman set

out an exposition of a 'new' style of criticism, and ways in which it differed from the

'old'. These two articles were but part of a chain of events during 1894 that caused

much correspondence and discussion of the subject in a variety of newspapers and

journals, and form an interesting topic to which we shall return presently.

One further weekly paper of a general nature warrants a brief mention. Established

in 1869 by William Thomas, a former engraver for the Illustrated London News, the

Graphic soon 'became a household word in Victorian journalism' .41 Its illustrations

were of a high standard, and its early popularity was helped fortuitously by the Franco-

Prussian war, which began within a year of the paper's inception, and naturally lent

itself to illustrative treatment. The Graphic provided coverage of many important

concerts, both in London and the provinces, though substantial articles were rare.

James Davison served as the first music critic until his death in 1885, but was assisted

by Joseph Bennett from the mid-1870s. Bennett continued to contribute reviews until

his retirement in 1906, assisted after Davison's death by Percival Betts.

40
Ibid., 83-4; Sullivan (ed.), British Literary Magazines- The Victorian and Edwardian Age, 131-3.
41
Symon, The Press, 229-32.
 58

The Musical Journals

As in so many other subject areas, the number of weekly or monthly journals devoted to

music during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was huge. 42 Many of them

were, however, short-lived, and some dealt only with limited areas of the complete

sphere of musical activity. Only the longer-lived and more successful journals will be

surveyed here.

The oldest of the musical journals relevant to our purpose is The Musical World: A

Weekly Record of Musical Science, Literature, and Intelligence, which appeared

regularly from 18 March 1836 to 24 January 1891. Although it began life as the first

house journal of Novello, this arrangement was short-lived, and during its first nine

years the paper experienced five changes of publisher, three changes in format, and a

succession of five editors from Charles Cowden Clarke (1836-7) to J.W. Davison

(1843-85). The most distinguished years for The Musical World were those before

about 1860, when the journal contained serious articles by well-known figures including

S.S. Wesley, Henry Gauntlett and Edward Rimbault and, from 1842, signed musical

reviews. Subjects promoted and discussed in these earlier years included the works of

Bach, late Beethoven, antiquarian movements, the singing classes of Hullah and

Mainzer, the impact of Chopin and Mendelssohn, and both Roman Catholic and

Anglican church music. During the 1860s, however, under Davison's editorship, the

serious nature of the journal was undermined by an element of flippancy which lessened

its stature and eventually contributed to its demise. 43 This decline was clearly evident at

the time of Joseph Bennett's first association with The Musical World as sub-editor

from 1868, for he refers to the 'Bohemian' atmosphere and disorganised state in the

editorial office, as well as to Davison's invention of comic names for the various

42
The New Grove Dictionary (2001) lists 326 British musical periodicals established between 1800 and
1924, the year of Stanford's death.
43
Leanne Langley, 'Music' in Victorian Periodicals and Victorian Society, ed. J.D. Vann & R.T.
VanArsdel, Toronto 1994, 117.
 59

members of staff. 44 The journal experienced a sudden revival under the brief editorship

of Francis Hueffer (1886-8), who brought it up to date by instigating a much greater

interest in contemporary music, including that of English composers. Hueffer's

premature death from cancer came too soon, however, for his reforms to take lasting

hold, and The Musical World survived for only another three years under his successor

Edgar Jacques (1888-91). 45 Despite its general significance at the time, however, the

journal is of only limited value to the reception history of Stanford's choral music, since

it ceased to exist before some of the composer's finest works were written. The next

significant musical journal to be established, chronologically speaking, - The Musical

Times - is far more important in this respect, since approximately one-third of all the

press references to Stanford's choral music collected in connection with this survey

emanate from it. A somewhat fuller account of its history will therefore be appropriate.

Alfred Novello's purpose in establishing The Musical World in 1836 was, at least in

part, to act as a vehicle for the promotion of Mendelssohn's St Paul, published by

Novello in that year. This task accomplished, Novello sold the new journal to Frederick

Davison but, observing its growing success over the next few years, reconsidered the

need for a Novello house journal. 46 Eventually, in 1844, he purchased The Musical

Times and Singing Class Circular, a paper established two years earlier by Joseph

Mainzer to promote and support his singing classes. Although soon referred to simply

as The Musical Times, the second part of its original title was not officially dropped

until1904.

Under its new ownership, The Musical Times retained its chief features: a 'musical

intelligence' column, a piece of printed choral music, and monthly publication at a

cheap price (one and a half pence). Alfred Novello shrewdly recognised its potential for

44
Bennett, Forty Years ofMusic, 222-5.
45
Hughes, English Renaissance and the Press, 27-8.
46
Ibid., 85-6.
 60

promoting his firm's publications to the ever-expanding numbers of amateur choral

singers, and under his editorship the format of the journal changed little, although the

number of pages doubled from the original eight to sixteen. In these early years articles,

news and reviews were regarded as of secondary importance to the advertisements

(about forty per cent of each issue) and the piece of printed choral music, both of which

were designed to promote sales of the company's publications. Support for new

English music was very partisan during its owner-editor's reign: if Novello published a

work, it would be promoted, but if a work emanated from a rival firm, it might well be

ignored. For this and other reasons, The Musical Times was overshadowed, during the

1840s and 1850s, by The Musical World which, at this point in its history 'excelled in

its verve and controversial edge'. 47 With the appointment of Henry Lunn as editor in

1863, the fortunes of The Musical Times began to change, and during the next few years

it became the market leader amongst general musical journals. Lunn's years at the helm

(1863-87) saw the number of pages nearly treble- from twenty to fifty-six- and the

content broaden. A typical issue of the later Lunn years would contain twelve pages of

concert and festival reviews, twelve pages of features, four pages of music and book

reviews (no longer restricted to Novello publications), four pages of correspondence and

'country news', a four-page choral piece from the Novello catalogue, and eighteen

pages of advertisements (still mostly of Novello products). In his earlier years, Lunn

wrote most of the major festival reviews himself, but commissioned feature articles

from a number of different journalists, including the prolific Joseph Bennett, whose

contributions included several series of articles studying the music of particular classical

and early romantic composers. By 1880 much of the concert reviewing had also been

passed to Bennett. Under Lunn's successful leadership, the readership of The Musical

47
Ibid., 86-8.
 61

Times doubled to 14,000 between 1850 and 1870.48 Foreign musical news had become

a regular feature since its introduction in 1877.49

Lunn' s editorial successors maintained the established prestige of The Musical

Times. William Barrett (1887-91) followed the general course set by his predecessor,

and gave his support to the 'Renaissance' group of English composers. One of the last

works he reviewed was Stanford's oratorio Eden, which, according to Barrett, possessed

'ingenuity' and a 'wonderful clevemess'. 50 Barrett's early death at the age of fifty-

seven left a vacancy in the editorial chair which was filled by the experienced Edgar

Jacques (1892-7), ex-editor ofthe recently defunct Musical World Despite his leanings

towards French and Indian music, Jacques made few changes to The Musical Times,

retaining the existing size (now sixty-four pages) and pattern of content. Like his

predecessors, he was sympathetic to the 'English Renaissance' group of composers, but

he did instigate greater coverage of French and Russian music. Joseph Bennett

remained a regular contributor.

Following Jacques's departure after only five years, Frederick G. Edwards was

appointed as editor. Unlike his two immediate predecessors, Edwards was a man who

placed himself at the centre of activity and put his personal stamp on The Musical Times

in various ways. His devotion to the task he had undertaken was evident from the many

articles he wrote under his own initials, in additional to :the regular editorial columns.

He wrote substantial reviews of London concerts and of provincial festival

performances, and occasionally wrote obituary notices. His ardent support for the

English Musical Renaissance soon expressed itself in a series of substantial biographical

articles on leading musical figures. The series began in January 1898 and continued on

a fairly regular basis until at least 1904. The first year featured, amongst others,

48
Ibid., 88-94.
49
Langley, 'Music', 118.
50
Hughes, English Musical Renaissance and the Press, 94-6.
 62

Mackenzie, Parry, Cowen and Stanford. 51 Later subjects included Elgar in 1900, Walter

Parratt in 1902 and Edward German in 1904. Each article was preceded by a full-page

photograph of the subject, and the text ran to an average of six or seven full pages. A

second series of illustrated articles reflected further Edwards's anxiousness to promote

all that was good in English music. Each of these articles was of similar length to the

biographical series, but described an English cathedral or college chapel and its music,

invariably including photographs of the building, the organist, and possibly the organ.

As if all this, including detailed and positive reviewing, and articles by younger writers

(such as Rutland Boughton and Arthur Johnstone) as well as the veteran Bennett, were

not enough, the Edwards era also introduced, on a regular basis, an extra musical

supplement of choral music, ensuring that each published edition of The Musical Times

carried at least eight pages of choral music, most of it new and by English composers.

In Meirion Hughes's words, 'Edwards effectively placed the Musical Times at the

disposal ofthe Musical Renaissance'. 52

The Edwards era was a high point for The Musical Times, and after his death in

1909, his successor, William McNaught carried the journal forward along much the

same lines, though without the same personality and flair. In the hands of McNaught

coverage of new English music declined in both quality and quantity, and the blandness

of some of the editor's major festival and concert reviews suggests that he was

somewhat ill-equipped for such responsibilities. 53 The Leeds Festival of 191 0 saw the

first performances of two major works for chorus and orchestra, both destined to

become firm favourites with the musical public. The Sea Symphony was one of the

early successes of Vaughan Williams, whilst the Songs of the Fleet represented the last

truly successful major choral work of his teacher Stanford. Both works received

51
Ibid., 98-9.
52
Ibid., 99.
53
Ibid., 102.
 63

middling, matter-of-fact reviews from McNaught. The younger composer had plenty of

time in which to recover, but by the time of McNaught's death in 1918, Stanford was

generally regarded as yesterday's man, and was himself in the twilight of his career.

Despite this dimming of its lustre for a while after 1910, however, The Musical Times

played a vital role in the promotion and projection of new English music from at least

the 1860s into the opening decade of the twentieth century.

A less ambitious musical journal. than either of the two already discussed, The

Musical Standard, was founded in 1862 by the amateur A.W. Hammond as an

independent general magazine for church musicians, organists and general music lovers.

Its long run is broken up into four series: 1862-71;1871-93;1894-1912 and 1913-33, and

publication fluctuated between fortnightly, weekly and monthly. Unattached to any

music publisher, and claiming to be independent and non-partisan, it contained

biography, correspondence, reviews, musical gossip, and a good deal of material

concerning church music, including the regular publication of the weekly music lists of

cathedrals and other churches. This early bias towards church and organ music and its

advocacy of a college for church musicians was a factor leading to the establishment of

the College (later Royal College) of Organists in 1864. Edwin Turpin, a prominent

founder member of this College, was later to become editor and music critic of the

journal (1880-90). From the early 1870s the scope of The Musical Standard broadened

to include more foreign news and other topics of a more sophisticated nature. 54

Although not of the same stature as The Musical Times, The Musical Standard did

publish some substantial reviews of new English music, including that of Stanford, and

is therefore of significance in the present context.

The music publishing firm of Augener established The Monthly Musical Record as

its house journal in 1871. Surviving until 1960, it rapidly became, under its first editor,

54
Langley, 'Music', 120.
 64

Ebenezer Prout (1871-4), one of the most distinguished musical periodicals of its time.

Original articles on historical and analytical subjects, together with high quality reviews

of European music (some of it published outside England) were regular features.

English music was not excluded, however, and reviews of London and provincial

concerts appeared alongside educational news. From 1880 Augener included a piano

piece from its catalogue in each issue to attract teachers and pupils. Prout was followed

as editor by Charles Barry, William Barrett and John Shedlock. 55 Although the main

purpose of the journal was not that of supporting the new productions of the 'English

Renaissance' composers, some worthwhile reviews of such music were published,

including several concerning first performances of major choral works by Stanford and

others.

The Musical Opinion and Music Trade Review first appeared in October 1877 as a

monthly journal for the music trade. Its early origins remain obscure, though a certain

J.F. Reid appears to have been business manager. Much of the publication was filled

with advertisements from music publishers and instrument manufacturers, and these

were supplemented by articles on keyboard actions, frames, stringing and other similar

subjects. Matters pertaining to copyright law, performing rights, new musical patents

and the trade balance of imports and exports also found a place, as did bills of sale,

business expansions and the like. New musical publications were listed by publisher

and many of them reviewed, albeit with great brevity. By the 1890s a broader coverage

of music was evident, including articles and letters on choral, historical and educational

topics. In the early years of the twentieth century, articles appeared featuring particular

publishers or series of publications, amongst them the recently established firm of

Stainer and Bell -the publishers of many of Stanford's later compositions. Concert

reviews were rather a secondary consideration, however, and although most important

55
Ibid., 122-3.
 65

London and provincial concerts were mentioned, sometimes at length, the material was

often taken, either in full or in a condensed version, from other sources. 56 Because of its

primary function as a trade journal, The Musical Opinion is an excellent source for

tracing at least approximate dates of publication for new music. Many music publishers

advertised in and sent review copies to the journal, one notable exception being Novello

(who, after all, had their own mouthpiece in The Musical Times).

The birth of a new weekly musical journal, Musical News, in 1891 was the direct

result of agitation in the English musical world at attempts by the University of Trinity

College, Toronto to award music degrees to British citizens on payment of a fee. Such

'degrees' were regarded by the British universities and colleges as being of a dubious

and inferior nature, and the decision by the proprietors of The Musical Standard to

publish advertisements for these suspect qualifications caused the resignation of almost

all ofthatjournal's staff, including its editor, E.H. Turpin, and Thomas Lea Southgate.

These two men immediately formed a syndicate of well-known musicians (including

Stainer, Garrett, Sullivan, Grove, George Elvey, Barnby and several others) with the

intention of establishing a new musical weekly paper. Consideration was given first to

purchasing The Musical World, just on the point of demise, then to amalgamating with

another paper called The Choir, but eventually the decision was taken to inaugurate a

completely new journal, the first edition of which appeared on Friday 6 March 1891,

under the joint editorship of Turpin and Southgate, with the title Musical News.

Broadly similar in style and content to The Musical Standard, with a leaning

towards church and organ music, Musical News nevertheless campaigned vigorously

against 'bogus' degrees. 57 It also took over from its rival paper the unofficial role of

journal for the Royal College of Organists, and published weekly cathedral and church

56
Ibid., 123-4. The Athenaeum was a favourite source of material.
57
Thomas Lea Southgate, The Inception of "Musical News", article published in MN, 30 April 1910,
456-8. Southgate gives the date of the first issue erroneously as 8 March 1891.
 66

music lists. The size of each issue tended to be sixteen to twenty pages, and regular

items would include Comments on Events (including some foreign news); London

Concerts; The Provinces; information from the music colleges, including the RCO and

the Royal Military School; The Associated Board; Miscellaneous Notes; Reviews (some

very brief, others more extensive, and including both concerts and publications);

Obituary; Correspondence; Answers to Queries; Provincial; Among the Churches;

Organ News; Appointments; and Cathedral Service Lists. There are a great many

references to performances of new English works. The journal ceased publication in

1929.

The Church Newspapers

The large number of church newspapers (mostly weekly) published during the

Victorian and Edwardian periods 58 supplies another area of the press to be explored for

musical criticism, though it must be said that the results, at any rate from a brief survey,

are disappointing. Many church papers, especially those primarily connected with the

Evangelical wing of the Church of England, with the free churches or with missionary

matters, had a fairly narrow and restricted scope, and did not concern themselves with

artistic matters at all. A small number of journals gave space to book reviews, and

fewer still to musical concerns. The Guardian, established in 1846, was an Anglo-

Catholic publication which became 'the authoritative newspaper of the Church of

England' / 9 giving official reports of the annual Church Congress and of Convocation

and, in its leading articles, providing authoritative treatment of current religious and

social questions. It also devoted a considerable amount of space to reviews of literature,

music and art. The Church Review and Church News (1873-1902) was a Mid-to-High-

Church paper which carried some correspondence on plainsong, chanting, hymn-tunes

58
Symon, The Press, 212 gives the number for London alone in 1914 as twenty-four.
59
Ibid., 272.
 67

and other similar topics and from time to time reported on Choral Festivals. Occasional

brief reviews of newly published church music appeared, one example being some

Novello items in November 1879. The Church of Ireland Gazette (established in

Dublin, 1900) was a broad, all-embracing weekly paper with substantial articles on a

wide variety of church matters, including music, though little in the way of formal

reviews. It published the weekly music lists for Dublin's two Anglican cathedrals as

well as for Trinity College chapel and St Stephen's church.

Most disappointing, however, is the Church Times (established 1863). Despite its

claim, by the early twentieth century, to have the largest circulation of any church

journal,60 this High-Church paper, at least in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods,

became so absorbed in the minutiae of church ritual, theological argument and allied

matters that it paid scant attention to wider issues, and music was pushed largely to one

side. Although some cursory reviews of new publications of church music appeared

from time to time, and book reviews on a more regular basis, concerts, even of sacred

music, were never mentioned, and festival services, even where reported, gave little or

no attention to the music.

The development of musical criticism

Criticism is by its very nature a controversial pursuit. 61

Nigel Scaife's succinct comment is a shrewd and accurate assessment, and his further

contention that the value and nature of music criticism were under regular discussion

and review during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is supported by a

large corpus of contemporary writing upon the subject, mostly in music and general arts

60
Ibid., 272.
61
Nigel Scaife, British Music Criticism in a New Era: Studies in Critical Thought, unpublished DPhil
thesis, University of Oxford, 1994, 2.
 68

journals, but occasionally in book:s. 62 Some ofthis literature will be examined briefly in

the following pages, alongside a consideration of the work of some of the most

prominent critics of the period.

The first generation of music critics- in many senses the 'founding fathers' of the

art in England - consists principally of three men: Henry Chorley (1808-72), James

Davison (1813-85) and, perhaps with a somewhat slighter reputation, Charles Gruneisen

(1806-79). Under these men music criticism first gained hold as a reputable occupation

during the 1840s and 50s, and between them they held posts on the most important

papers of the day, wielding considerable influence. They were all, however, musical

conservatives for whom Mendelssohn was the god and the model for new music. Their

careers, moreover, were virtually (and in Chorley's case, entirely) over before the

appearance of any of the mature works of the 'English Renaissance' group of

composers headed by Parry, Mackenzie and Stanford. Thus their relevance to the

present survey is negligible.

From the next generation, however, comes one of the most significant and long-

serving of all the Victorian music critics: Joseph Bennett (1831-1911). Having begun

his working life as a schoolteacher and chapel organist, Bennett himself recounts how

he came to journalism almost accidentally in the mid-1860s. 63 Within five years he

found himself contributing articles on music to several newspapers, including the

Sunday Times, Graphic, Pictorial Times and Pall Mall Gazette, and also to the Musical

Standard and Musical World. In 1870 he began his thirty-six year tenure as chief music

critic of the Daily Telegraph, and it was from this base that he became, in due course,

the most celebrated and widely read critic of his generation. He also became very active

as a librettist, working most particularly with Cowen and Mackenzie, for each of whom

he produced five texts. Ultimately, however, his most successful opus in this field was
62
An example ofthe latter is F.J. Crowest's Phases ofMusical England, Remington, London 1881.
63
Bennett, Forty Years of Music, 1-8.
 69

his adaptation of Longfellow's Golden Legend for Sullivan, a cantata which, following

its first performance at the Leeds Festival in 1886 (alongside Stanford's Revenge),

quickly became the most popular English secular choral work of its time. 64

Upon his appointment to the Daily Telegraph Bennett ceased writing for other

newspapers, but continued to work unceasingly for musical journals. He virtually took

over editorship of the Musical World during the fmal years of his ailing mentor

Davison, and became a very regular contributor to the Musical Times until his

retirement in 1906, not only reviewing concerts, but also supplying signed articles on a

variety of musical topics.

Bennett, like Davison, was conservative in his musical tastes and opinions. He did,

nevertheless, keep an open mind, and gradually warmed to the music of Schumann - a

composer regarded with distaste and suspicion by the previous generation. It was, in
65
fact, an early article of Bennett's on Schumann in the Pall Mall Gazette that brought

him to the attention of George Grove, who saw it as marking 'an epoch in musical

criticism' .66 Never able to gain a full appreciation of Wagner, he nevertheless

recognised the genius of the controversial composer.

While fixed in his adulation of Mendelssohn and the 'classical' school of

composers, Bennett nevertheless sought ceaselessly for new English music to which he

felt able to lend his support and approval. He championed the music of Sullivan, even

when fellow critics berated it, 67 and it was, in fact, he who first used the word

'renaissance', with its implications of rebirth or resurrection, in his description of a new

English work - Parry's Symphony No.1 - upon its first performance at the 1882

Birmingham Festival. 68 Meirion Hughes identifies in Bennett's support of Sullivan a

64
A list of Bennett's libretti was printed in a biographical article in MT, December 1910,771.
65
'Robert Schumann', PMG, 30 November 1868.
66
See Hughes, English Musical Renaissance and the Press, 45.
67
Ibid., 115-37.
68
DTel, 4 September 1882.
 70

wish to portray himself as 'the people's critic, a journalist free of elitism and snobbery

who had his finger on the pulse of the musical public' .69 In a Musical Times article of

1884, Bennett advanced his support of new English music a stage further by identifying

four young composers - Cowen, Stanford, Mackenzie and Goring Thomas - who had

'the immediate future of English music in their hands' with a duty to 'conserve

everything distinctively English' and to reject 'modem and unproven theories'. 7 From °
this Hughes concludes:

There is no clearer statement of the critic's reception strategy for English music. Bennett, a Christian
moralist and patriot, was a ruthless power-broker who tried to shape the future of national music in his
journalism. 71

From his chosen English composers (to which Parry must be added), Bennett

favoured first one, then another as being the brightest prospect. He had reservations in

respect of both Parry and Stanford, regarding the former's Wagnerian sympathies with

suspicion, and the music of the latter as too academic and lacking in real fire and

emotion. This did not prevent him, however, from regularly welcoming new works

from their pens - on occasion with considerable enthusiasm. As Parry moved away

from Wagnerian influence, however, Bennett's support became whole-hearted, and with

the appearance of Stanford's Revenge in 1886 his support of the Irishman turned a

comer too. Hughes comments that, as Bennett became increasingly disillusioned with

contemporary musical trends, he 'learned to ignore Stanford's academicism and

appreciate the solid conservative (Schumann-Brahms) values enshrined in his work.' 72

From the 1880s onwards, as a new approach to the whole business of musical

criticism began to develop amongst younger men, Bennett found his conservative views

challenged with increasing frequency, and he came to be regarded by the 'new' critics

as an outdated relic from the past. His regular readership did not desert him, however,

69
Hughes, English Musical Renaissance and the Press, 45-6.
70
'English Music in 1884', MT, June 1884,324-6.
71
Hughes, English Musical Renaissance and the Press, 47.
72
Ibid., 51 .
 71

and he was still widely read and respected until the time of his retirement. Although

somewhat fixed in his views, his sense of justice and tolerance, and his magnanimity of

spirit is shown in a Musical Times article of 1898 - the third of a series entitled 'Some

Present Aspects of Music' -devoted to the subject of criticism. As well as ridiculing

the habit of anonymity in musical journalism, and defending those critics, himself

included, who lack the official stamp of degrees or diplomas, pleading that the true

critic is 'born, not made', he maintains that the musical criticism ofthe day is 'generally

speaking, honest and able, ... not, as a rule, warped and distorted by prejudice'. He

continues with an appeal for tolerance and charity, asking 'May I also urge, in my

position as a senior, that an improvement in the attitude of critics toward each other is

not beyond the limit of possibility?'. 73 Following his death, one obituary notice after

another referred to the sincerity and honesty that earned him respect, and noted his great

contribution to the promotion of new English music. One of the greatest accolades

awarded to Joseph Bennett during his lifetime came from Elgar, who had much reason

to be grateful to the critic for his support. The composer, speaking on the subject of

critics in the fifth of his Peyton Lectures in Birmingham, gave pride of place to Bennett:

English criticism should be- honest, fearless and reasonable. There are many youn~er writers of whom I
could write ... but I instance Mr Bennett as the patriarch and head of the profession. 4

Such a recommendation cannot be too lightly regarded. Even those who have

questioned his lasting qualities as a critic of stature have conceded on some point or

other. Gerald Cumberland's often-quoted jibe at Bennett, commenting that he 'was a

fluent writer who contrived to say less in a full column than a man like Ernest Newman

or R.A. Streatfeild or Samuel Langford can say in a couple of lines' and that 'he footled

gaily for many years' and was 'a raconteur, a gossiper, a chatterer', has to admit that 'he

73
MT, May 1898, 303-5.
74
Birmingham University professorial lecture, 1905, reprinted in Percy Young, A Future for English
Music and Other Lectures by Sir Edward Elgar, Dobson, London 1968, 181.
 72

was the public' and that 'people read him'. 75 Henry Colles commented that Bennett

clung to 'a repressive style of dogmatic criticism' for far too long. 76 For a more recent

assessment of Bennett's qualities we can turn to Nigel Scaife:

[Bennett] had a facile pen, yet his verbose literary style could not disguise the poverty of his critical
thought. . . . His writing serves to exemplify the kind of conservative opinion, expressed in dull prose,
that dominated the critical scene during the 1880s and continued to appear well into the twentieth
century. 77

and elsewhere:
78
Often a critic's contemporary significance far exceeds his present reputation.

Of Joseph Bennett's significance during his lifetime there can be little doubt: his

reviews and articles were read by many thousands of ordinary music-loving people over

the forty-year span of his journalistic career. As Cumberland said:

If [Bennett] damned a work - well, that work was damned. No music critic of today wields such power
as his, though there are a score ofwriters on music who have ten times his gifts. 79

Other critics of broadly similar outlook to Joseph Bennett included Henry Lunn

(Musical Times) and William Barrett (Morning Post and Musical Times).

One of the first critics to show a distinctly new approach was the German-born

Francis Hueffer. Hermann Klein declared that 'with [Hueffer's] arrival in 1878 the

ultra-orthodox attitude of The Times towards music underwent a complete volte-face,

the effect of which was not only startling in itself but remarkable in the extent of its

influence over the rank and file of rising critics and, indeed, over general musical

thought throughout these islands'. 80 Davison's conservatism found its antithesis in the

thirty-five year old enthusiast for Wagner, who wished for English music to develop

along progressive lines. Hueffer had published articles on Wagner in the Fortnightly

Review prior to his appointment to The Times, and thus his views did not come as a

surprise. Placing his main hopes for new English music upon the establishment of a

75
Geoffrey Cumberland, Set Down in Malice, Grant Richards, London 1919, 143-4.
76
Henry C. Colles, article on 'Robin Legge' in Grove l/1, vol.iii, 129.
n Scaife, British Music Criticism, 57-8.
78
Ibid., 11.
79
Cumberland, Set Down in Malice, 143-4.
80
Hermann Klein, Musicians and Mummers, 1925, quoted in Scaife, British Music Criticism, 25-6.
 73

national operatic tradition, Hueffer at first identified Mackenzie as the most promising

contender in this field, and set out to assist him by writing libretti for two operas, and

then promoting them vigorously in The Times. The failure of Columba and The

Troubador, despite his and Mackenzie's best efforts, dampened the critic's hopes for

English opera, but he still had hopes of a symphonic triumph, praising in particular the

symphonies of Cowen. 81 In the field of large choral works, Sullivan's Golden Legend

and Cowen's Ruth were awarded special praise. Parry's music was looked upon

favourably at fust by Hueffer, an enthusiasm which cooled as the composer moved

away from Wagnerian influence, and his support for Stanford's music was somewhat

muted, perhaps because of this composer's Brahmsian roots. Hueffer was, nonetheless,

anxious to assist the development of English music wherever possible, and gave critical

support to several less talented figures, notably Goring Thomas and Corder. 82 Hueffer's

contributions to The Times and, briefly, to the Musical World between 1878 and 1888

did much to encourage the English Musical Renaissance, although, due to strained

relations with Grove and his coterie, his early death from cancer was not greatly

mourned in South Kensington. 83

From the late 1870s articles referring to and discussing various aspects of music

criticism began to appear with some degree of frequency. Amongst the first to appear

were two articles by Edmund Gurney entitled On Music and Music Criticism. 84 In the

first of these Gurney examined the basic elements of music, attempting an assessment

of their emotional effect, 85 while the second article touched upon some of the

considerations involved in critical evaluation, attempting definitions of what constitutes

good and bad in music, connecting them directly to the pleasure (or lack of it) felt by

81
Hughes, English Musical Renaissance and the Press, 21-4.
82 .0

Ibtd., 24-6.
83
Ibid., 27-9; Scaife, British Music Criticism, 26.
84
Published in The Nineteenth Century, July 1878, 51-74, and June 1879, 1060-1078.
85
A process carried much further some eighty years later by Deryck Cooke in The Language of Music,
Oxford University Press, London 1959.
 74

the listener. He states that 'the true interpreter of music must always be the performer,

not the critic', adding that the critic who feels that he must explain something 'is in

constant danger of mistaking his vocation'. Gurney's insistence upon the 'pleasure'

factor as the sole criterion for the judgement of music is repeated in his book The Power

of Sound (1881), rendering its chapter on music criticism 'not particularly

enlightening' .86

On January 3rd 1881 Stainer, among the foremost of those interested in the theory of
87
criticism, and 'one of the most industrious and widely read musicians of his day',

presented a paper entitled The Principles ofMusic Criticism to members of the Musical

Association. 88 During his discourse, he identified some questionable developments in

the sphere of newspaper criticism, declaring that the art was 'at the present moment

oscillating between the two extremes of dogmatic conventionalism [i.e. the 'old school'

of Bennett et al] and unblushing nihilism'. Warning against the judgement of music

solely on grounds of personal pleasure (the view of Gurney and others), he contended

that 'the standard of merit in music is, and ever will be, determined by the consensus of

that body of educated listeners and thinkers whose intellect and emotions are equally

trained and refined, and who are silently elected to a sort of "board of taste" '.

Later the same year, Frederick Crowest devoted a chapter of his book Phases of

Musical England to an examination of musical criticism. 89 Voicing his low opinion of

the current state of the art, he identifies the principal aim of criticism as the edification

and education of the public, adding that 'the future of Musical Art in England is in the

hands of the Musical Press'. He stresses the need for adequately qualified critics who

will write more of the music itself than of the qualities of a particular performance, but

furthermore warns against the error of over-technicality in writing on music. In these

86
Scaife, British Music Criticism, 53.
87
Ibid., 50.
88
Published in Proceedings of the Musical Association, 1880-1, London 1881,35-52.
89
Crowest. Phases of Musical England, 1-30.
 75

views he was echoed by other writers, but upon the subject of the critical approach to

musical works he is silent. It is therefore unclear whether he favoured the traditional

objective view or the developing subjective approach to critical writing.

The challenges to the staid conventions of traditional criticism identified by Stainer

as 'unblushing nihilism' were soon to turn into a joyous assault in the hands of George

Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), whose first mature writing on music appeared in the

Dramatic Review during 1885. Shaw, an ardent socialist who became a music critic

before he wrote plays, hated humbug and pretence of any kind, and perfected a style of

earnest, lively, yet totally irreverent criticism written with a linguistic brilliance which

still makes it irresistible reading today. 'I could make deaf stockbrokers read my two

pages on music,' he once wrote of his criticism in The World, 'the alleged joke being

that I knew nothing about it. The real joke was that I knew all about it'. And he did.

As Laurence points out, Shaw's life was full of music from the beginning. His early

novels and his later plays are full of musical references, many of them displaying

detailed technical knowledge (mostly self-taught). 90

Shaw's upbringing taught him, amongst other things, a detailed knowledge of

voice-production (his mother was a fine singer) and a deep affection for nineteenth-

century Italian opera. Added to these as he grew to manhood were a passion for

Wagner and a love of literature that sparked his own intuitive genius as a writer of

prose. His journalism was so peppered with his brilliant and ironic wit that it caused a

great stir amongst the newspaper-reading public.

Central to Shaw's purpose was reform. He was deeply concerned for the poor in all

aspects of their lives, including their access to good music, and in this respect he called

for series of cheap concerts independent of the fashionable 'seasons' .91

90
See Dan H. Laurence (ed.), Shaw's Music, 3 volumes, Bodley Head, London 1981, Introduction.
91
Stephen Banfield, 'Aesthetics and Criticism', Blackwell History, vol.5, 470.
 76

Shaw detested academicism in music, and this manifested itself most clearly in his

loathing of the English oratorio and cantata traditions, fostered by the provincial music

festivals. In Stephen Banfield's words:

English composers, notably Parry and Stanford, and Brahms, all suffered from his oratorio- and cantata-
92
hating pen, which would beat the genre with any stick.

His withering criticisms of Parry's Job and Judith may seem unprincipled, but Shaw

always maintained his personal admiration for the composer, and it was his serious

purpose 'to stamp out oratorio and release Parry's genius from an unnatural venal

alliance' .93

Scaife describes Shaw's achievement as defining most clearly the new 'temper' in

British musical criticism:

Historically, his position is of the utmost importance, for he put into reverse the whole critical momentum
of the late Victorian era, attacking the cult of Mendelssohn worship and placing Wagner as heir to the
Beethoven tradition and redeemer of opera through the introduction of social themes. . . . Shaw's distaste
for academicism and falsity in art ... placed him in direct opposition to those university-based composers
such as Parry and Stanford who were held in high public esteem and whose work, both literary and
musical, dictated to a large extent the prevailing taste. Indeed, he attacked Parry, Stanford and Mackenzie
as a mutual admiration society. 94

Shaw did, nevertheless, wish to encourage the development of English music, and

expressed his hope to see an English Wagner before too long. Eventually he recognised

in Elgar his eagerly-awaited messiah for English music.95

Although Shaw's main period of music journalism lasted (with the exception of

some early, unsigned articles) for just under a decade (1885-94), the total number of

articles is huge, and his influence upon the world of music criticism was profound and

long-lasting.

1894 could aptly be termed, in the sphere of English music, the Year of Critical

Controversy, for it saw much lively and heated discussion in the press of the basic

principles of music criticism. The fiery debate was ignited by a critical account, in the

92
Ibid., 471.
93
Ibid., 472.
94
Scaife, British Music Criticism, 60-61.
95
Banfield, 'Aesthetics and Criticism', 472-3.
 77

Pall Mall Gazette, of a Bach Choir performance, in the Queen's Hall, of Bach's St

Matthew Passion on 15th March. In a savage review, Vernon Blackburn took both choir

and conductor (Stanford) to task for poor singing and lethargic speeds. 96 Stanford was

outraged, and goaded Grove, Parry, Goldschmidt, Mackenzie and Parratt to sign a letter

of protest to the paper drawn up by Fuller Maitland. 97 Shaw also wrote a scathing

review for the World, but it was not published, the editor fearing litigation. 98 His

subsequent letter to the Pall Mall Gazette was published, however, and in it Shaw

supported Blackburn's view of the Bach Choir's performance as a thoroughly bad one,

despite the protestations of Stanford's colleagues; so bad, in fact, that he had left half

way through. 99 Comments on this exchange of views, mostly favourable to the Stanford

camp, rumbled through the musical press during the ensuing weeks.

Stanford's own written response to the controversy was delayed - very wisely,

considering his impetuous nature - until June, when he published an article entitled

Some Aspects of Musical Criticism in England in the Fortnightly Review. 100 In, for its

author, a peculiarly mild manner, the article criticised not the critics themselves, but the

baneful conditions under which they were compelled to work, citing in particular the

undue haste with which so many reviews had to be written, the plurality forced upon

critics by meagre financial reward, and the unfortunate effects of musically ignorant

editors appointing equally ignorant critics simply because they possessed a gift of

literary style. 101 One immediate reaction to this article (in Musical News) expressed

disappointment that Stanford had missed a golden opportunity to instigate useful

discussion upon different approaches to criticism by his refusal to criticise the critics

96
PMG, 16 March 1894, 3.
97
PMG, 20 March 1894,3.
98
Shaw's article,,entitled 'Murder by the Bach Choir', was typset and may be seen in Laurence, Shaw's
Music, 2nd (revised) edition, Bodley Head, London 1988, vol. 3, 775-80.
99
PMG, 21 March 1894,3.
100
FortRev, vol.55 (Jan.-June 1894), 826-31.
101
Shaw identified this last comment as aimed at himself(as it might very well have been) and said so in
the World on 13 June.
 78

themselves. It was, moreover, pointed out that the professor's contention that reviews

written hastily after a concert for immediate publication must inevitably be flawed and

incomplete was one that failed to recognise the true situation: namely that, before all

important first performances, critics were allowed access both to scores and to

rehearsals, and therefore had ample time to form a proper opinion of the music in
• 102
question.

Another, more substantial response appeared in the Westminster Review in the form

of an article by Dr. Jacob Bradford entitled Musical Criticism and the Critics. 103 His

examination of the history of musical criticism in England concludes with four

recommendations: (i) that articles should be signed, (ii) that sufficient time be allowed

for important reviews, (iii) that critics should study scores of new works, and (iv) the

establishment of a 'Council of Critics, from whom a consensus of opinion would be

obtainable'.

A far more combative reaction, however, appeared in the columns of the Fortnightly

Review in August, for John F. Runciman's article Musical Criticism and the Critics 104

set out the rationale of a 'new criticism', at the same time chiding Stanford for having

avoided a direct confrontation: 'My only complaint against Dr. Stanford is that, having

the chance to snub us thoroughly, he carefully evaded it'. Before setting out his ideals

for a new direction in criticism, he thoroughly berates the 'old criticism' of the Davison

school as hanging 'like a millstone round the neck of English music'. But things were

changing. Of Shaw he says that his column in the Star 'did most of all to send the old

criticism out of date' and that with his move to The World the new criticism has 'come

to stay'. The 'old' criticism, he says, was formed 'by the application of general rules to

102
MN, 9 June 1894,529.
103
WestRev, vol.CXLII (July-Dec. 1894), 530-6.
104
FortRev, vol.56 (July-Dec. 1894), 170-83.
 79

particular circumstances', whilst the 'new' criticism 1s 'based on personal tastes,

personal likes and dislikes'.

Runciman's article prompted further comment in the musical and general press. An

unsigned article (editorial?) in The Saturday Review likens Stanford and Runciman to

combatartts in an 'arena for sport', summarising their arguments, but roundly criticising

Runciman for his 'excessive abuse' and 'tactless scolding' . 105 Comment rumbled on for

a few months more, and in February 1895 Musical News published a letter from 'An

Old Critic' stating his astonishment that the very paper (The Saturday Review) which

had castigated Runciman a few months earlier (in the article quoted above) had now

installed him as its music critic. 106

It was in fact Frank Harris, who, upon his appointment as editor of the Saturday

Review in November 1894, immediately recruited Runciman to the paper, the latter soon

becoming his personal assistant, and remaining with the paper for the rest of his life.

John Finlay Runciman (1866-1916), a native ofNorthumberland, began his career as an

organist and composer, but abandoned these occupations when he found it possible to

make a living from journalism. Closely associated with Shaw's circle during the 1890s,

the Shavian legacy is found in his sharp wit, assertive manner, Fabianism and crusading

spirit. Shaw took a personal interest in his career, and claimed to have taught him how

to write. 107 Hughes characterises Runciman as 'a colourful and controversial critic who

held the achievements of the English Musical Renaissance in utter contempt' .108

Runciman himself wrote in 1900 that 'the English musicians of today remind me chiefly

of a pack of querulous, gossiping, afternoon tea old ladies . . . the history of English

105
SatRev, 'Musical Critics and Musical Criticism', 11 August 1894, 155-6.
106
MN, 9 February 1895, 132.
107
Scaife, British Music Criticism, 64; Bernard Shaw, 'How I discovered Frank Harris' in Collected
Letters, vol.l, ed. Dan Laurence, Reinhardt, London 1965,476.
108
Hughes, English Musical Renaissance and the Press, 83.
 80

music in the nineteenth century is a blank page' .109 Like Shaw, Runciman regarded the

continuing oratorio tradition and the continuing popularity of the choral festivals as the

greatest obstacles to true progress in English music, feeling that, to become truly

national, it should stop imitating German models and rid itself of academic influences.

Opera was the brightest hope for the future. no Runciman's eagerness and strongly held

opinions sometimes led him into the error of being abusive and insulting, and this

occasionally cost him dear. 111 Appearing as an influential force on the scene of musical

criticism just as Shaw left it, Runciman took his natural place as unofficial leader of the

'new', subjective critical style} 12 In Scaife's words:

His highly personal and impressionistic criticism was governed by a forceful temperament expressed with
a literary vivacity that marked it out from the frequently dreary writing that posed as criticism during the
early years of the twentieth century. Ultimately it was this marked degree of temperament that gave his
best criticism its incomparable force and vigour. 113

Another critic of considerable importance in any assessment of the achievements of

the Stanford/Parry group is John Fuller-Maitland (1856-1936). Cambridge educated,

from a wealthy family and a great personal friend of Stanford, he became a 'gentlemen

critic'- a term which could also be applied to the Oxford-educated Hadow, Tovey and

Walker. Fuller-Maitland was 'a music zealot, a critic who dedicated his professional

life to building a national music revival of which England could be proud' . 114 Music

critic first of the Pall Mall Gazette (1880-84), then London critic for the Manchester

Guardian (1884-89), and finally chief critic of The Times (1889-1911 ), Fuller-Maitland

championed the English Renaissance composers, and most particularly Parry and

Stanford, at every possible opportunity, often giving their works extravagant praise. His

109
'English Music in the Nineteenth Century', SatRev, 13 January 1900,45-6.
110
Scaife, British Music Criticism, 71-3.
111
Runciman actually lost two court cases for libel brought by Mackenzie in 1896-7, and was declared
bankrupt in January 1898- see Scaife, British Music Criticism, 71.
112
Edward Dent, 'Como di Bassetto', reprinted in Selected Essays, ed. Hugh Taylor, Cambridge
University-Press, Cambridge.} 979 .. Dent astutely points to the major difference between Shaw and
Runciman: 'Mr Shaw could handle the bludgeon as doughtily as any when occasion demanded. But he
was never systematically truculent ... and wielded his weapon always with his own humorous grace.
Runciman was rancorous and spiteful; his personal animosities were self-evident ... '.
113
Scaife, British Music Criticism, 80.
114
Hughes, English Musical Renaissance and the Press, 29.
 81

108-page study of these two composers 115 provides further evidence of this partisanship,

as does his far more substantial history of nineteenth century English music, 116 in which

the various composers of the 'Parry group' are given pride of place as 'The Leaders of

the Renaissance', and eulogistic comments are thick on the ground. His particular view

of critics as being 'doorkeepers' of the 'citadel of music' is reflected in the title of his

autobiography, published in 1929. 117

Other critics of a newer stamp (though not necessarily direct disciples of the

Shaw/Runciman school) included Arthur Johnstone, the much respected critic of the

Manchester Guardian from 1896 until his early death in 1904, and Ernest Newman

(real name William Roberts), who first succeeded Johnstone at Manchester, but after a

year moved to the Birmingham Post, where he remained until 1919. Both these men

achieved considerable reputations in their day, and both gave their whole-hearted

support to Elgar, but their importance in connection with Stanford's coterie is small,

since they rarely wrote of their music, being more concerned with the next generation -

men such as Bantock and Holbrooke. 118 Newman did, however, write copiously on

musical matters, including some articles on criticism, in one of which he propounded

the idea of a school for the training of music critics, 119 a suggestion which prompted

further articles from Michael Calvocoressi 120 and Arthur Hervey. 121

Stanford himself wrote copiously on musical matters, though only three times in the

official role of a critic. His detailed reviews of Sullivan's Golden Legend122 and Parry's

Judith 123 praise the respective works warmly, while showing the insights of a fellow

115
John A. Fuller-Maitland, The Music of Parry and Stanford: An Essay in Comparative Criticism,
W. Heffer, Cambridge 1934.
116
John A. Fuller-Maitland, English Music in the XIX Century, Grant Richards, London 1902.
117
John A. Fuller-Maitland, A Doorkeeper of Music, Murray, London 1929.
118
Notable exceptio11s a,re Johnstone;s reviews of Stanford's Requiem and Te Deum.
119

120
NewmaD:
Eriiest 'A s'cliool for MusicCritics', MT, January 1911, 16-17.
Michael D. Calvocoressi, 'Can Musical Criticism be Taught?', MT, May 1911, 300-302.
121
Arthur Hervey, 'Concerning Musical Criticism', MT, June 1911, 373-5.
122
'Sullivan's "Golden Legend"', NatRev, vol.8 (1886-7}, 400-407.
123
'Mr Hubert Parry's "Judith"', FortRev, vol.44 (1888}, 537-45.
 82

composer, but perhaps his proudest moment as a critic was the invitation to attend the

first performances in Italy of Verdi's Falstaff, following which he produced an extended

review which placed Verdi's fmal opera appreciatively in the context of nineteenth

century opera as a whole. 124

It is difficult to escape the conclusion that Stanford was born at a fortunate and

auspicious time for the development and practical application of his particular musical

talents and inclinations. His youthful years in Dublin were spent in a congenial

atmosphere where ambitious music-making on an almost daily basis was the norm. He

arrived in Cambridge at a time when the musical life of the university was ripe for

change and advancement, and where the resident community proved ready to take a

brilliant, energetic and ambitious young musician to their hearts. Ten years later,

Stanford's appointment to a professorship at the newly-founded Royal College of Music

provided the next logical step in his developing career, with a base in London and a

general widening of scope and opportunity.

By the mid-1870s, when Stanford began in earnest his musical career, the sight-

singing movement had done its work, choirs and choral societies flourished in

abundance throughout the land, all the major provincial musical festivals were well

established, and the demand for new choral music, especially from church choirs and

the committees of the various triennial festivals, was approaching its zenith. The rapid

expansion of music publishing, and the production of cheap choral music (pioneered by

Novello) was a pragmatic and logical response to the steadily increasing demand for,

and supply of new choral works for church, cathedral and chapel, singing club, choral

society and concert hall - a situation to which Stanford and many of his contemporaries

found it congenial and fulfilling to respond in plentiful measure.

124
'Verdi's "Falstaff"', FortRev, vol.53 (1893), 445-53.
 83

A parallel expansion in the general and musical press, combined with the steady

development of musical criticism as an art, would ensure that, by the 1870s, few new

compositions of stature and worth would escape the notice of the musically-inclined

public, even if merely through an advertisement or the briefest of comments in a

newspaper or journal. It is a detailed consideration of this phenomenon, especially in

connection with the choral output of Stanford, to which we shall turn our attention in

Part Two.
 Part Two

Stanford's Choran Music

and the Press
 85

Chapter Three

Stanford's Choral Music and the Press 1:

The Cambridge Years, 1870-1893

Stanford's years of residence in Cambridge saw his development from an eager and

energetic young undergraduate with unsurpassed musical flair to a highly regarded

member of the English musical establishment whose services as composer, conductor

and teacher were much in demand. His work with the Cambridge University Musical

Society (hereafter referred to as CUMS) provided a platform for his earlier

compositions, gaining for him a rapidly expanding reputation. As well as receiving

constant encouragement from some of his Cambridge near-contemporaries, notably

Fuller Maitland and Barclay Squire, Stanford was fortunate in gaining the lasting

friendship and interest of established figures such as Joachim and Richter, who were of

enormous assistance in fostering and advancing his reputation.

The publication of the Service in Bjlat in 1879 very quickly made Stanford's name

in the field of Anglican church music, but it was the larger choral works of the mid-

1880s - the Elegiac Ode, The Three Holy Children and The Revenge - which truly

established his national reputation.

From the moment of Charles Villiers Stanford's arrival in Cambridge as a new

undergraduate in October 1870 his close association with choral music was a foregone

conclusion. Despite the fact that his official purpose in the university was to read for a

degree in classics, his family background and his unofficial tutelage from Robert

Prescott Stewart in Dublin had armed him with an extensive knowledge and love of

choral music, and his new position as organ scholar of Queen's College required him to

take charge of all music in chapel services.

 86

Early choral works

The story of his rapid rise to musical prominence in Cambridge University circles, and

of his zealous reformation of CUMS has been amply chronicled elsewhere, 1 but he was

soon to write a setting of the evening canticles for the Queen's College choir, and, after

his transferral to Trinity College, a second evening canticle setting and two Latin

commemoration motets for the choir there. Since, however, Stanford never sought

publication for any of these pieces, they remained unknown outside his immediate

circle. The earliest of his choral pieces to receive any critical comment in print appears

to have been a part-song or 'madrigal', To Chloris, probably written about 1873, but

sung in a CUMS concert in May 1880, after which the Cambridge Review commented:

Mr Stanford's 'Chloris' is a happy combination of antique form and modern colour: it has the flavour of
age, without the pedantry of the imitation-old. It well deserved its warm reception. 2

By September 1874, during his first spell of musical study in Germany, Stanford

had completed a more ambitious work for tenor solo, chorus and orchestra - a setting of

Klopstock's poem Die Aziferstehung. This was given its first performance at a CUMS

concert on 21 May 187 5, sung in an English translation beginning 'Rise again', and

received a brief mention the following day in the Cambridge Chronicle. 3 Known as The

Resurrection, the piece was later published by Chappell, and was sung as an anthem

(with organ accompaniment) in Trinity college chapel on at least four occasions. 4

It could well have been the success of The Resurrection that began to spread

Stanford's reputation beyond the confines of Cambridge, for when his next choral work

was first produced in May 1877, the performance was reported more widely. Dedicated

to CUMS, Stanford's setting of Psalm 46- God is our hope and strength- was a larger

1
By Stanford himself, in Pages, and also by Greene, Dibble and Rodmell.
2
CamRev, 26 May 1880, 121. The same concert also included performances of a Quartet in F by
Stanford, as well as music by Gibbons, Brahms and Schubert.
3
CamChr, 22 May 1875,4. The same concert included the first hearing in England of Schumann's
music to Faust.
4
Dibble, Stanford, 71, cites a performance on 10 May 1886; CamRev lists further performances in
Trinity chapel on 6 May 1888, 19 May 1889 and 22 May 1892.
 87

work than The Resurrection. Scored for four soloists, chorus and orchestra, the work is

in five movements, finishing with a choral fugue. 5 The CUMS concert of 22 May 1877

in Cambridge's Guildhall featured Stanford's psalm-setting in the company of another

choral work receiving its frrst hearing in England: the Alto Rhapsody of Brahms, and the

programme was completed by Wagner's Mastersingers' Overture and Schumann's

Fourth Symphony. The local press, in the guise of the Cambridge Chronicle, is

enthusiastic, in a review of moderate length, describing Stanford's work as 'the

performance of the day', praising particularly the third (choral) movement, and

predicting that the work will 'ere long take a prominent place in the repertoire of the

Sacred Harmonic and other first -class Musical Societies'. 6

A review in The Examiner, informs us that, while the audience 'remained cold' to

the Brahms Rhapsody, it reserved its warmest applause for Stanford's work, describing

him as 'the able conductor of the Society, to whose energy and intelligence the laudable

results attained are mainly due'. The first chorus of the Psalm is described as a piece 'as

full of feeling as it is technically perfect', the following quartet being 'melodiously

attractive and exceedingly well written for the voices'. The next chorus is judged,

however, as being 'somewhat loud', and ending in 'a Maestoso hardly in keeping with

the dignity of sacred art' - a definite contrast with the Cambridge Chronicle's

unreserved praise for the same movement. The fmal choral fugue is reckoned as

'somewhat conventional in melodious conception, but evincing accomplished

musicianship', and the whole work 'does great credit to its author' .7 A similar

reservation as to the appropriateness of the second chorus is expressed in a brief column

5
Dibble, Stanford, 75-6, suggests that this work, completed in Germany in November 1875, represents in
one sense Stanford's 'unofficial' Mus. Bac. exercise, since its overall design, including both solo and
choral writipg, ;:md culminat~ng in a choral fugue, reflects the requirements for such compositions. He
also points out, however, that Stanford's patently more modem approach to composition 'questioned the
lamentably outdated expectations of the degree's examination rubric and thereby challenged the
university to consider major reforms'.
6
CamChr, 26 May 1877, 8.
7
Exam, 26 May 1877, 622-3.
 88

m The Musical World, whose critic fmds the movement 'somewhat boisterous',

selecting the openmg chorus as the most immediately impressive movement, but

describing the whole work as betraying 'the accomplished musicianship of its

composer'. 8

The June 1877 number of The Musical Times carries both a notice of the CUMS

concert and a detailed review of the score (published by Novello), and from the former

article we learn that the orchestra broke down completely at one point in Stanford's

Psalm - the result, it was thought, of insufficient rehearsal. A brief summary of the

performance begins, however, with an interesting comment on the composer, giving

some indication of how Stanford is beginning to be noticed by the musical world at

large:

The Psalm naturally excited a great deal of interest. Its composer appears to be a favourite in the musical
circles of the University, and as he possesses talent which may some day confer upon his Alma Mater a
large increase of artistic renown, the eagerness with which his work was heard requires no explanation. 9

An actual description and evaluation of the work is, predictably, reserved for the second

article, which occupies two-and-a-half columns and includes musical examples. 10

Reflecting the dominance, at this period, of Mendelssohnian influence, especially in

choral composition, the (anonymous) reviewer first poses the question 'Will [the psalm]

ostentatiously proclaim its independence of Mendelssohn, or reflect that master's style

and spirit?'. He concludes that, while it is clear that Stanford has studied Mendelssohn,

his work avoids any semblance of 'mere copying'. The fugal writing in the first and

last movements is given some detailed discussion, and some 'advice' is proffered to the

young composer (one of innumerable manifestations of nineteenth-century English

musicians' obsession with fugues!). The 'picturesque and suggestive' accompaniment

to the solo quartet is praised, as are the 'happy touches' in the second chorus, which

8
MW, 26 May I877, 366.
9
MT, I June I877, 280.
10
MT, I June 1877, 29I-2.
 89

'strengthens our opinion that Mr. Stanford has the making of a good descriptive

composer'. The fourth movement (baritone solo) is reckoned the weakest, and

reservations are expressed concerning the form of the finale. The final paragraph,

however, praises Stanford's scoring, noting 'an exuberance about it characteristic in

some degree of the entire work, and natural to the composer's years'. The concluding

two sentences express hope in a composer of great promise.

Not every review is as complimentary, however, and the reviewer of Truth does not

conceal his impatience with the work:

Mr. Stanford's composition met with a very flattering reception, more flattering than it would have
received anywhere out of Cambridge where he has done so much for music. This energetic young
composer would do well to let his wings grow longer before he tries such high flights. The introduction
and opening chorus have some good and skilful work, and the quartet is pretty and well harmonised; but
the rest of this long psalm is pretentious and commonplace, and there is not an original idea from first to
last. It would be better taste of Mr. Stanford not to take up so much of these programmes with his own
works. 11

A further brief review of the score in the Athenaeum describes the work as a 'very

clever production, the only fault of which is too great a tendency to elaboration and

amplification', but judges the composer as 'a young and most promising musician' of

whom 'great hopes are entertained' . 12

Hans Richter's choice of God is our hope for performance at one of his London

concerts in May 1881 must have provided a further welcome boost to Stanford's

reputation as a composer, for it appears to have been the first concert performance of

any of his choral compositions in the metropolis. Following the concert on 30 May, the

Pall Mall Gazette describes the work as 'musicianly and duly modem in style', 13 and

Athenaeum judges it 'of somewhat unequal merit', though 'pleasing and musicianly ..

of no special individuality, but by no means destitute of merit' / 4 while the Monthly

Musical Record feels that it reflects badly on English concert-givers that 'the work of a

11
Truth, 31 May 1877, 684, cited in Rodmell, Stanford, 52.
12
Ath, 12 January 1878, 64.
13
PMG, 3 June 1881, 11.
14
Ath, 4 June 1881, 760.
 90

native writer which has sufficient merit to secure a hearing from a German master

should have been on the shelf for more than five years.' 15 That the concert was not

recorded in the Cambridge press calls forth a letter of protest to the editors of the

Cambridge Review. 16 The writer ('C') reports the great success ofthe performance, and

concludes with a comment that 'even the earlier works of our composer [Stanford] are

now recognised by competent judges as being representative works of the best English

Music'. One further contemporary comment upon this psalm setting, although made in

a private diary, is of considerable interest: Hubert Parry, after attending the Richter

performance, noted 'Parts of the psalm are fine ... and the scoring fine. Some parts are

dull and wanting in vitality, even Mendelssohnian' . 17

Despite its shortcomings, God is our hope was occasionally revived (as at Ripon in

1904), and remained in print until 1930. It was certainly a piece which helped the

young Stanford to become known outside Cambridge as a composer of choral music on

a moderately large scale.

Two landmark settings for the Anglican Church

The next choral work of Stanford's to appear was the Morning, Evening and

Communion Service in B flat, published by Novello in June 1879, and first sung, in

stages, in Trinity College Chapel during the summer of that year. There is, however, a

mystery attached to the rapid rise to popularity of these particular settings of the

Anglican liturgy. The Musical Times carried advertisements for the newly published

Service in the issues for June, July and August 1879, but the journal never printed even

the briefest review of it. Neither, so far as can be ascertained following an extensive

search, did any other journal or newspaper. Yet it is clear that the complete Service was

15
MMR, 1 July 1881, 139.
16
CamRev, 8 June 1881,372.
17
Diary of Hubert Parry, 30 May 1881, cited in Dibble, Stanford, 121.
 91

sung at St Paul's Cathedral, London as early as 11 January 1880- a mere seven months
18
after its publication- and at St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin on 1 February following.

The fact that it appears never to have been reviewed could be simply a matter of chance.

The sheer quantity of church music being produced at this period was so great that the

task of reviewing it all would surely have been beyond the time constraints of any critic

and the space available in any journal. An indication of this constantly growing supply

of new music may be seen in Table 1, which illustrates the growth, over a thirty year

period, of new publications from Novello.

Table 1
Statistical comparison of new music publications by Novello, 1869-1889
as listed in The Musical Times

Year choral vocal instrumental total

1869 207 57 91 355

1879 273 48 46 367
1889 282 37 51 370
1899 461 143 113 717

These numbers are approximate only, and are taken from the 'during the past month'
column in each monthly issue. A few items are not clearly enough described to ascertain
their genre, and some 'new' publications are re-issues or further instalments of a
previously issued work, e.g. a vocal score and a full score of the same work being issued
in different months.

Almost nothing is known about any criteria governing the choice of items to be

reviewed, but Novello's would surely have better reason than most to find space for

reviews of as many of their own publications as possible in their own journal. The

Musical Times had, after all, carried extensive reviews of other Stanford works,

including one of his A major cello sonata at about the same time as the publication of

the B flat Service. This Service rapidly became one of the most widely used settings in

Anglican churches and cathedrals throughout England and as far away as the Antipodes,

yet how did it become so popular in such a short space of time? One possibility is that

the musicians at St Paul's had something to do with it, because it is known that both

18
lnformation from music lists published in MS, 10 & 31 January 1880.
 92

Stainer and Sparrow-Simpson were always on the look-out for worthwhile new church

music by younger composers. They were shortly to commission a new service setting

from Stanford for the 1880 Sons of Clergy Festival: was it his B flat Service that

prompted them to do so? And did they pass the word around about a new young

composer of first-rate church music? Perhaps we shall never know, but it is certain that

the B flat Service was to make Stanford's name known to virtually every church

musician throughout the Anglican Communion. Increasingly frequent press references

to performances of various parts of the B flat Service attest to its growing popularity, as

does a survey of canticle and communion settings found on cathedral music lists for the

year 1906-7, published in full in Musical News and shown in abridged form in Table 2.

The Te Deum became a standard choice for festivals, and was used (in a revised version

with organ and orchestra) at the 1902 Coronation. The morning and evening canticles

have never been out of print since their first publication, and are widely used to this day.

Church musicians know 'Stanford in B flat' even if they know nothing else at all by

him. Features contributing an attractive freshness to Stanford's Service in B flat could

well have been its ground-breaking development and re-use of thematic material and an

overall structure more akin to symphonic music than the usual episodic treatment of

these liturgical Anglican texts - an approach developed further in the A major evening
19
canticles of the following year, and years later in the service settings in G and C.

The Evening Service in A is a very different proposition, for although the score was

never reviewed, there are several accounts of its fust performance at the Festival of the

Sons of Clergy in St Paul's Cathedral on 12 May 1880. Specially commissioned for the

occasion, the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in A is the only one of Stanford's evening

canticle settings to be conceived from the outset with orchestral accompaniment, the

19
For a detailed consideration of the subject, and a general survey of Stanford's output of church music
during his years at Trinity College, Cambridge, see Jeremy Dibble, 'Stanford's Service in B flat op.lO
and the Choir ofTrinity College, Cambridge', published in G. Gillen & H. White (eds.), Irish Musical
Studies II: Music and the Church, Dublin 1993, 129-48.
 Table 2
Extracts from a survey of cathedral music lists for 1906-7, published complete
in Musical News, 30 November 1907, 511-12. Stanford works are shown in
bold capitals.

TeDeum Holy Communion

Composer/key No. oftimes Composer/key No. oftimes

Smart in F 69 Marbeck 71
STANFORD IN B FLAT 51 Eyre in E flat 47
Dykes in F 32 Smart in F 40
Sullivan in D 27 Tours in F 39
Hopkins in G 21 Dykes in F 33
Garrett in D 18 Martin inC 29
Harwood in A flat 18 STANFORD IN B FLAT 28
Stainer in E flat 16 Stainer in F 28
Woodward in E flat 16 Tours inC 27
Lloyd in E flat 12 Garrett in D 24
Barnby in E ll Harwood in A flat 23
Tours in F 11 Woodward in E flat 23
Goss inC 10 Stainer in E flat 20
King Hall in B flat 10 Lloyd in E flat 17
19 further settings with Field in F 16
3-9 performances Garrett in E 15
Garrett in A 14
Agutter in B flat 13
Elvey in E 12
Palestrina (unspecified) 12
Stainer in A 11
SchubertinG 11
26 further settings with
3-10 performances

Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis (contd.)

STANFORD IN B FLAT 88 Garrett in E flat 18

Tours in F 69 Calkin in B flat 17
Walmis1ey in d 69 Faning inC 17
Stainer in A 63 Lloyd in E flat 16
Stainer in E flat 59 Parry in D 16
Garrett in D 42 STANFORD IN A 16
Garrett in F 40 Martin inC 14
Stainer in B flat 38 Noble in b 13
Barnby in E 34 Whitfeld in E l3
Gadsby inC 27 Wood in E flat l3
Hopkins in F 27 Field in D 12
Foster in A 27 Gounod in D 12
Martin inA 25 Lloyd in F 11
Arnold in A 24 Turle in D 11
Smart in F 23 Lloyd in A 10
Wesley in E 23 Bunnett in F 10
SmartinG 22 Calkin in F 10
Smart in B flat 20 Stainer in D lO
Cooke in,G 20 Alsop in'E 10
Harwood in A flat 20 45 further settings with
Roberts inC 20 3-9 performances
Goss in A 19 Stanford in F and in G do not appear
 94

organ part being subsequently arranged from the full score to fit the published edition

for everyday use. Writing of the Festival, the Musical Times reporter states 'as we may

possibly have to speak of [Stanford's Evening Service in A] before long in another

portion of our columns, we will content ourselves for the present by remarking that,

both in conception and execution, it is unquestionably the work of a thorough musician,

such as we know Mr. Stanford to be' .20 The implication of a forthcoming more detailed

review was not to become a reality, however. Four other journals report the Festival at
21
greater length, but share an almost identical text- clearly the work of just one critic.

The paragraph dealing with Stanford's setting is worth quoting:

The Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis (in A) written expressly for the festival ... by Mr C. Villiers Stanford,
organist of Trinity College, Cambridge, was a novelty to be prized, as furnishing additional proof that our
young composers are taking more and more interest in Church music, which, developed at its utmost,
naturally belongs to the very highest possible achievement, as exemplified in the "sacred oratorio." Mr
Stanford shows an evident leaning towards Mendelssohn, but he writes well both for voices and
instruments; his melody flows naturally and his harmony is unostentatious and pure. He had already
earned merited praise by his complete morning and evening service in B flat, and this fresh endeavour
seems to denote a fixed resolve to go on further in the same path. [My italics.]

An earlier portion of the article also informs us that there was a choir of 300 and an

orchestra of 50. The fmal part of the paragraph quoted above gives further indication of

the rapid rise to popularity of the B flat Service, though telling us no more about how it

was achieved.

The A major Evening Service was sung again at St Paul's four days after the Sons

of Clergy Festival,22 though this time just with organ accompaniment, and was revived

regularly at the cathedral, using orchestra on occasions such as the Patronal Festival in

January. The setting was also taken up in several other cathedrals and churches with

strong choral traditions, though its larger scale and double choir Gloria prevented it

from becoming as widely used as the more straightforward B flat setting. Like this

20
MT, I June I880, 295-6.
21
The article is found in the following journals: MW, 15 May 1880, 307; Guard, 19 May 1880, 642; MS,
22 May 1880, 323; MO, I June 1880,299.
22
SeeMS, 15 May I880, 3I9.
 95

earlier service, it has remained in print and in regular use continuously up to the present

day.

On 3 November 1881, the London Church Choir Association gave the first

performance of a new work commissioned from Stanford. Awake, my heart, another

setting of Klopstock (in English translation), and described on the score as 'hymn', is in

reality a short cantata for baritone, chorus and organ. There are several published

accounts of this Festival Service in St Paul's Cathedral, the fullest and most laudatory

appearing in the Musical Times, where Stanford's piece is described in some detail.

The first main theme is 'instinct with life and vigour', a later section for baritone solo

with a chorale-like accompaniment for upper voices is compared favourably with Mein

teurer Heiland from Bach's StJohn Passion, and the fmal verdict is that the work

strikes a 'new line', likening it to a modem re-incarnation of a Bach cantata, quite free,

however, from any hint of pedantry. 23 Shorter accounts from the Daily News and,

surprisingly, the Church Times (which rarely concerned itself with musical matters)

inform us that the choir contained 591 surpliced singers drawn from thirty-four choirs in

the London area, the latter article describing the baritone solos as 'very fine', and the

performance as 'admirable' .24 The reporter from The Guardian gives a somewhat

different view of the proceedings, however, for._ while acknowledging Awake, my heart

as a 'well-written and effective work in the form of a compressed church-cantata', he

was clearly confused by the notoriously difficult acoustic in the cathedral, complaining

of 'contrapuntal difficulties' being 'slurred over and marred' -quite an understandable

reaction if one is sitting in the wrong place. He concludes that the Church Choir

Association has tackled work beyond its powers, and pleads for simpler music? 5

Stanford orchestrated the cantata for its next appearance at a CUMS concert on 2

23
MT, I December I88I, 631-2.
24
DN, 4 November 188I, 3 and ChT, II November I88I, 770.
25
Guard, 9 November I88I, I610-ll.
 96

December 1882, where, according to the Cambridge Chronicle, its position at the end of

a long concert on a very cold evening prevented the 'very beautiful hymn' from

receiving its deserved amount of applause. 26 The Cambridge Review notes a smallish

audience, but describes the 'hymn' as a 'very beautiful composition, the concluding

Gloria being exceedingly grand', 27 while the Athenaeum comments that, although the

work is 'refined and musicianly, and very agreeably written for the voice', the

performance suffered once or twice from the too generous use of the new and powerful

organ in the Guildhall. 28 A subsequent performance by the Bach Choir (26 March

1884) seems to be the only further reported concert performance of this work, although

it was sung several times as an anthem, both at Trinity and in other places. 29

First secular choral successes: Cavalier Songs and Elegiac Ode

A very different style of composition was demonstrated in the Three Cavalier Songs for

baritone solo and male chorus. Completed in 1880, one of the songs appeared in a

CUMS concert in December 1881, where it was 'performed with so much spirit as to

make an encore absolutely necessary' ,30 and the complete set appeared at another

CUMS concert the following April, when the same journal comments:

Everyone knows how exciting the words are [by Browning], and with the addition of the spirited music
they become irresistible. We liked the first the best, "Marching Along," but in no case were the others
inferior to it. 31

The Musical Times, reviewing the score, congratulates the composer on his

achievement, stating that the songs will be 'a real boon to baritone singers'. The poet, a

great lover of music, is delighted with Stanford's setting of his words, telling the

26
CamChr, 9 December 1882,4.
27
Ca,Rev, 6 December 1882, 152.
28
Ath, 9 December 1882, 782.
29
Performances include Trinity College Chapel (9 November 1884; 16 May 1897), Lincoln's Inn Chapel
(28 February 1897), Salisbury Cathedral (18 July 1897), and Lincoln Cathedral (23 June 1912).
3
° CamRev, 7 December 1881, 117.
31
CamRev, 26 April1882, 264.
 97

• ' 32
composer 'You have done me great honour in setting my songs to music .

Subsequently adopted by the celebrated American singer, David Bispham, the Cavalier

Songs remained firm favourites with singers and audiences for many years, receiving

the warm approval of Bernard Shaw, who describes them as 'fiery and original as they

are vernacular from beginning to end'. 33

1884 was to prove in one sense a crucial year for Stanford, for it saw the production

of his first choral work commissioned by one of the prestigious provincial choral

festivals. The Elegiac Ode, first performed on 15 October at the Norwich Festival,

made a considerable impact, both with the musical public and with the critics, and was

taken as further proof that its composer was capable of success in music of serious

intent and on a fairly extended scale. It also did much to restore the composer's

reputation after the ignominious failure of the opera Savonarola at Covent Garden in

July of that year. 34 The Elegiac Ode was, in fact, used on subsequent occasions as a

bench-mark against which to measure Stanford's later choral works. As with none of

his other choral works, however, the choice of text proved highly controversial, for at

that time the poetry of Walt Whitman was little understood in England, and opinions of

his Burial Ode for President Lincoln range from 'incoherent maundering' (Musical

Timesi 5 to 'Whitman's best poem' (Cambridge Review). 36 No matter what view critics

take of Stanford's libretto, however, his music receives universal praise: no mean

achievement for a work which was first heard in close proximity to the other new work

of the Festival - Mackenzie's full-length oratorio The Rose of Sharon. A close

comparison of press comment upon both works (shown in Table 3) reveals, in fact, a

clear bias in favour of Stanford's work, for although four-fifths of press articles express

32
Letter from Robert Browning to Stanford, 26 November 1881, cited in Dibble, Stanford, 161.
33
George Bernard Shaw, Music in London /890-94,3 vols. (New York, 1973), vol. ii, 327, cited in
Rodmell, Stanford, 86.
34
See Rodmell, Stanford, 95-108.
35
MT, I November 1884, 633-4.
36
CamRev, 29 April 1885, ci.
 98

unreserved praise for the Elegiac Ode, critical opinion is much more evenly divided on

the merits of Mackenzie's work, some commentators finding it too long, and marred by

uninspired sections. Praise for Stanford's accomplished technique is also more in

evidence. 37

The daily newspapers inevitably carry the earliest reviews. The Times, in a

substantial column, presumably by Francis Hueffer, suggests that despite its 'halting

rhythm' and 'grandiloquent bathos' Whitman's Ode is 'infinitely above commonplace

sentimentalism'. Stanford's selection of the poem gives an 'intellectual cachet' to

music whose most striking merits are earnestness and 'style', making no concession to

vulgar taste or popularity. The opening to the Ode is impressive, and the gloom and joy

of the baritone and soprano solos respectively are well-suited to the text. The 'noble

climax' in the final chorus is followed by a 'bold return' to the softer music of the

opening. The whole work reflects 'high credit on the composer and on the school to

which he belongs'. 38

The critic (Joseph Bennett?) of the Daily Telegraph claims that few would deny a

certain charm in Whitman's view of death, and he is not surprised at Stanford's choice

of the text, as it has hidden depths which could be enhanced by musical treatment. 39

The column goes on to identify the influence of Brahms - in freedom of harmonic

treatment, in approach to orchestration, and in general 'earnestness, dignity and sombre

force', but emphasises that there are also many features in the work attributable to no

one but its composer. The fmal verdict upon the Ode is 'the greatest work Mr. Stanford

has yet written', suggesting furthermore (with some degree of prophetic accuracy) that

the composer's success in this type of composition might have a determining influence

upon his future efforts.

37
For a full explanation of the criteria used in these comparative tables, see introductory pages, iv.
38
T, 16 October 1884, 6.
39
DTel, 16 October 1884, 3.
 Table 3
Press reception comparison of new works, Norwich Festiva11884

Elegiac Ode (Norwich 15 October 1884)

No. of reviews consulted 15
Wholly laudatory 12
Laudatory with reservations 3
Critical 0
Comments on technique/cleverness 3
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 0

Stanford: Elegiac Ode G"onvich IS October 1884)

16

14 c No. of reviews consulted

12 • Wholly laudatory

10 o Laudatory with
reservations
8
o Critical
6
• Comments on
4 technique/clev erness
o Comments on emotional
2 coldness/detachment
0
0

Comparison: The Rose of Sharon- Mackenzie (Norwich 16 October 1884)

No. of reviews consulted 12
Wholly laudatory 6
Laudatory with reservations 6
Critical 2
Comments on technique/cleverness I
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 0

Comparison: The Rose of Sharon -Mackenzie

(Nonrich 16 October 1884)

14
12 11:1 No. of review s consulted
12
• Wholly laudatory
10
o Laudatory with
8 reservations

6 o Critical

4 • Comments on
technique/cleverness
2 o Comments on emotional
0 coldness/detachment
0
 100

An article in the Daily News, after expressing surprise that any of Whitman's poetry

should invite musical treatment, confesses that in the case of Stanford's Ode the

'gloomy groundwork' (that is, the poem) has been 'associated with some very

impressive music'. After a brief, appreciative analysis of the work, it is described as

'one of the best of Mr Stanford's productions'. The influence of the modem German

school is noted, but also the individuality of the composer 'who has here produced a

work that holds out much promise for the future' .40

The Morning Post critic takes a different line: clearly no devotee of Whitman, one

of the 'fleshly school of poetry', he flippantly states that, since Stanford has been so

successful in finding appropriate music for an impossible text, he might next set

Bradshaw's Guide or some Board of Trade retums. 41 He also persists in pointing out

the similarity of the ode's 'leading-motive' to a popular drawing-room ballad and other

features which, in his opinion, deserve criticism, but says that Stanford's music 'as

music, is singularly good'. This rather sour article concludes by referring to the

composer's recent operatic failures, suggesting that he should in future remain content

with 'little compositions as more within the measure of his real ability'.

Amongst the weekly papers, The Guardian carries perhaps the longest and most

laudatory review, declaring that Stanford has captured the mood of Whitman's 'strange

and most beautiful' poem and sustained the mood of 'joyful solemnity' throughout.

The critic, 'JM' (John Fuller Maitland?) praises the atmospheric opening of the work

and the 'most effective' baritone solo, identifies the soprano solo 'in slow dance-

measure' as the 'brightest and most joyous number of the work', and enthuses over the

'beautiful and strange modulation' into the final fugue with its 'most beautiful' subject.

The fugal writing is noted as very resourceful, and much superior to Mackenzie's

equivalent efforts in The Rose of Sharon. In contrast to Mackenzie's work, which left
40
DN, 17 October 1884,3.
41
MP, 16 October 1884,5.
 101

upon the hearer 'an unconquerable feeling of dulness'[sic], Stanford's Ode brings

honour 'not only to the composer himself, but to the whole school to which he

belongs'. 42

The Saturday Review also praises the work, reckoning the music superior to the

poem. In a brief, appreciative analysis attention is drawn to the same modulation into

the fmal fugue mentioned by the Guardian critic, describing it as a 'cadence of rare

beauty' (i.e. a transition from E flat to D) to the final chorus - a 'tuneful fugue'. The

critic's final summary is that 'the "Elegiac Ode" must be ranked as a work of a very rare

merit, bearing the unmistakable stamp of genius'. 43

The critic of the Athenaeum, after declaring that no matter what one thinks of the

poem, it invites musical treatment, goes on to judge the Elegiac Ode 'the best thing

[Stanford] has yet written', claiming it to contain 'a freshness of idea and a grasp of the

subject-matter which entitle the composer to a very high rank'. The bass solo is

'excellent', the 'charming theme' of the soprano solo, with its 'piquant orchestration',

makes it likely to become the most popular movement, the final fugue is 'most

excellent' and the ending ofthe whole work 'tranquil, but impressive'. 44 The following

week, in a continuation of its Norwich Festival coverage (which praised Mackenzie's

Rose of Sharon at length), the 'distinct success' of Stanford's work is reiterated,

suggesting that, should it fail to achieve more permanent popularity, the fault will lie

with the choice of subject and the words, and not with the music. 45 This last comment

is echoed in certain other reviews.

42
Guard, 22 October 1884, 1593-4.
43
SatRev, 25 October 1884,529-30.
44
Ath, 18 October 1884, 504-5.
45
Ath, 25 October 1884, 535-6.
 102

A shorter notice in The Graphic states that 'Stanford has entered fully in to the spirit

of the poet's central idea, and his music is in happy accord with the cheerful sentiment
46
of this Ode to Death'. Generally, the work 'shows Dr. Stanford at his strongest' .

Of the musical journals, it is the Musical Times which carries by far the fullest

account of Stanford's Ode. After the initial remarks criticising the poem (summarised

above), the article describes the music as extremely effective and pleasing, the soprano

solo being singled out as 'the most attractive number'. The final sentences judge the

Elegiac Ode 'All in all . . . the best work the composer has yet given us', but, like the

Athenaeum, express a fear that the subject may prevent it becoming as popular as the

music deserves. 47

Shorter notices appear in the Monthly Musical Record, the Musical Opinion and the

Musical Standard. MMR describes the music as 'remarkably fresh, clear and pleasing',

noting much 'clever writing and effective orchestration' and predicts that the ode will

'rank among the composer's best efforts' .48 After referring to the work's opening as

'dull and lugubrious', MO comments that the music improves as it progresses, the latter

part of the ode being 'full of brightness and originality', and concludes with a verdict

upon the work's likely future similar to those expressed in the Athenaeum and the

Musical Times. 49 MS makes no comment on the music, merely stating that the work

was 'enthusiastically received' .50

The warmly appreciative reception awarded to the Elegiac Ode at its Norwich

premiere is further enhanced by similarly positive reports of further performances by

CUMS (13 March 1885) and by the Bach Choir (1 March 1888). Following the CUMS

46
Graph, 18 October 1884,407.
47
MT, 1 November 1884,633-4.
48
MMR, 1 November 1884,249-50.
49
MO, 1 November 1884,63.
50
MS, 25 October 1885, 242.
 103

performance, the Musical Standard makes up for its former reticence in a substantial

column singing the work's praises and concluding:

As long as we have composers who can write like the author of the Scandinavian Symphony [i.e. Cowen],
the "Rose of Sharon", and the Elegiac Ode, we need not have the slightest fear of comparing our national
musical laurels with those of any other country at the present time. 51

The Cambridge Review extols the virtues of the opening and closing choruses, though it

regards the solos as less striking, possibly because of inadequacies in the singers, 52

while William Barclay Squire, a close associate of Stanford, writes in the Athenaeum :

The composer, strange though it may seem, has evidently been inspired by Walt Whitman's curious
rhapsody, the setting of which is, we are inclined to think, the best thing that has hitherto come from his
pen. . .. The opening and final choruses are undoubtedly the best parts of the work, and rise to a level
which very few contemporary composers have attained; indeed, the whole work is singularly interesting,
alike from its spontaneous freshness of melody and the masterly manner in which the details are
executed. 53

Views of the work are still glowing following the Bach Choir's performance in March

1888, Bennett commenting in the Daily Telegraph that the ode 'grows in favour with

every fresh hearing' ,54 an almost identical comment appearing in the Athenaeum. 55

Despite the more than favourable reception awarded to the Elegiac Ode at these first

hearings, however, only a small handful of further performances were documented in

the press, extending to one in 1907 (Reading). It is quite possibly the case, therefore,

that the subject matter of the Ode rendered it less than attractive to choral groups and

concert promoters - much as was predicted in some early reviews.

First oratorio: The Three Holy Children

The following year Stanford was enabled by a commission from the committee of the

Birmingham Festival to follow up the considerable success of his Elegiac Ode with his

first attempt at a full-length oratorio. The Three Holy Children, cast as an oratorio in

two parts, was based upon the episode from the Book of Daniel of the three young

51
MS, 21 March 1885, 182-3.
52
CamRev, 29 April1885, ci.
53
Ath, 21 March 1885,385.
54
DTe/, 3 March 1888, 3.
55
Ath, 10 March 1888, 316.
 104

Israelites cast into the furnace by Nebuchadnezzar. Since the story by itself was of

insufficient length for a full-length choral work, Stanford, following sound advice from

Cambridge colleagues, incorporated extra material from two psalms as well as part of

the Benedicite omni opera. The oratorio, written during the final months of 1884 and

completed in February 1885, was one of eight new works to be performed at the 1885

Birmingham Festival.

As usual, public interest in the major provincial musical festivals is sufficiently keen

for outline programmes to be published many months in advance, and the Musical

World prints a draft programme for the 1885 Birmingham Festival as early as May

1884. 56 It is clear that by July or August 1885 some reviewers have gained access to the

vocal scores of some, if not all, of the new works to be performed at the Festival,

including Stanford's, for during August both the Musical Times and the Musical World

print articles in which there is some detailed discussion of the textual and musical

content of The Three Holy Children.

The Musical Times article previewing the Festival 57 praises the text of Stanford's

oratorio for being unconventional, yet 'clever and effective'. It is described as 'having

dramatic interest, yet abounding in lyrical expression'. Comments on the music refer to

the use of 'representative themes, without which, apparently, no modem work is

complete'. The article continues by predicting that, due to the 'somewhat elaborate'

interweaving of these themes into the texture, 'it seems vain to hope a first or even

second hearing will suffice for complete recognition'. It does concede, however, that

the chief themes may be 'identified with sufficient ease', and goes on to describe the

airs and choruses as possessing 'unusual clearness'. Stanford's apparent, if temporary

avoidance of 'thraldom to modem Germany' is noted, and the final chorus of the work-

'0 all ye works of the Lord' (from the Benedicite)- is said to be 'almost Handelian in
56
MW, 17 May 1884,313.
57
MT, I August 1885,468,475-6.
 105

its breadth of effect and simplicity of outline', a description echoed by many other

critics following the first performance. Following the great success of Gounod's

oratorio The Redemption in 1882, the principal attraction ofthe 1885 Festival is taken to

be his quasi-requiem Mors et Vita, and a final comment in the MF preview article

remarks that, although both Stanford and Gounod have included in their respective

works a number in Palestrina style, there is otherwise absolutely no similarity between

the two compositions.

The Musical World reprints Joseph Bennett's substantial article previewing the

Festival from the Daily Telegraph. 58 In his initial paragraph, Bennett outlines the

perceived importance of the Birmingham Festivals and their record of launching

significant works. His next paragraph discusses the overall programme, noting its

courage in listing no fewer than eight new works, six of them by 'sons of an "unmusical

country"'. The absence of any work by a living German is also noted, perhaps even

with a certain sense of satisfaction. Bennett's third paragraph discusses The Three Holy

Children, first extolling the 'excellence of the book'. In referring to the music 'there

need be no hesitation in saying that it puts Mr Stanford in a light more favourable than

any that ever before shone on him'. Reference is then made to his having 'sown his

wild oats as a composer', but now, having 'forsaken the devious wilds of modem

German art', the 'sweet reasonableness of his Elegiac Ode' was now 'followed by

almost classic clearness, breadth, and force'. Bennett cannot resist concluding, in

biblical style, that 'there should be more joy over a sinner that repenteth than over

ninety-and-nine just persons who need no repentance'.

Following the first performance on 28 August, it is once again the major daily

papers which contain the first reviews. The local press was naturally out in force, and

Stephen Stratton's exhaustive review of the fourth day of the Festival in the

58
MW, 29 August 1885, 539-543.
 106

Birmingham Daily Post awards warm praise to Stanford's work, which is 'quite able to

hold its own in the domain of oratorio against that of exotic origin'. 59 Reference is then

made to the spontaneous outbursts of applause at the conclusion of the first part of the

work and again at the end, breaking the convention of silent reception for sacred works:

this in itself is seen as an indication of the audience's great enthusiasm for the oratorio.

Following a lengthy movement-by-movement account of the music, Stratton comments:

There can be no question as to the masterly character of this work, more particularly in its writing for the
chorus and orchestra, and it is one which cannot fail to enhance very considerably the already high
reputation of the composer . . . Dr. Stanford is sometimes charged with a disregard of the claims of
rhythm, form, and tonality; but the score of the "Three Holy Children" certainly affords no ground for
such a complaint. Every movement, however elaborate, is worked out with remarkable clearness .... his
themes are often broad and tuneful ... and he is never wanting in dramatic spirit or dramatic colouring....
He scarcely rises, however, to the height of the situation in the instrumental interlude and chorus
descriptive of the casting of the Three Children into the furnace, where a little graphic tone-painting
might have been legitimately employed ... [Dr. Stanford] has produced a work of undoubted strength,
excellence and interest, and one which will prove a valuable and acceptable addition to the repertory of
modem oratorio. Finer choral writing than "The heathen shall fear thy name," and the great double fugal
chorus which closes the oratorio, we have not met with for many a day, and the orchestration throughout
is admirable in its reserve as well as in its richness ... To sum up, we think that "The Three Holy
Children" marks a distinct and substantial advance upon Dr. Stanford's previous achievements, and
affords an earnest of yet better things to come, when the composer shall have learned to subordinate his
scholarship and technical skill still further to his invention. As it is, with all its undoubted cleverness, it
lacks the note of inspiration which would justify us in hailing it as a really great work.

Such a substantial quotation from Stratton's article is amply justified by the fact that

many of his remarks are echoed time and time again by other critics, not only in

connection with this oratorio, but, in the case of the comments upon his technical skill,

scholarship, and lack of sufficient emotional involvement, applied also to some of his

subsequent works. 60

Aris 's Birmingham Gazette, in a shorter, but still substantial review concludes that

'Mr. Stanford's Three Holy Children is undoubtedly one of the most powerfully written

and meritorious works a composer of the English school has produced. Its construction

59
BDP, 29 August 1885, 5.
60
This dichotomy of critical opinion- the balancing of an appreciation of technical prowess against
doubts concerning depth of inspiration or emotional involvement- becomes so common in connection
with Stanford's music that it seems appropriate to single it out as a particularly significant element in
critical commentary. A closer examination ofthe subject will be found in the concluding chapter, 261-6.
 107

has been well thought out; the melodies are always appropriate, and the themes are well

worked'. 61

A third local paper, the Birmingham Daily Mail, m a fairly conctse column,

comments briefly and appreciatively upon various individual movements, and

commends the performance, but fails to draw any conclusions as to the merits of the

work as a whole. 62

Moving on to the national daily papers, Hueffer's review in The Times awards

Stanford's oratorio qualified praise. 63 While acknowledging the important nature of The

Three Holy Children, Hueffer feels that it is rather too short for a 'sacred drama', and

that the introduction of material extraneous to the story has resulted in part one of the

work being filled with 'airs and choruses of a religious character' without featuring the

Three Holy Children at all. This prompts the remark: 'It will be seen at once that Mr

Stanford does not rely for his effect upon any kind of dramatic interest; and in doing so

he has acted in accordance with the promptings of his own genius'. He continues: 'Of

the climax of the story little is made in the musical sense'. The roaring of the fire he

describes as being 'of the mildest kind', appearing somewhat tame when compared to

Mendelssohn's treatment of a similar subject in Elijah. On the positive side, however,

genuine admiration is expressed for the 'splendid workmanship' of the music, most

especially for the choral fugue at the end of part one and the double chorus concluding

the whole work. The soprano solo with the chorus 0 daughter of Babylon is cited as an

example of 'simple and pathetic melody', while the lengthy tenor air in part two is

described as 'less satisfactory, and, indeed, very conventional', despite being well sung.

The music allotted to the Three Holy Children is noted as being 'very effective, without,

however, rising to much dramatic force'. Richter's direction of the work is given

61
BDG, 29 August 1885, 5.
62
BDM, 29 August 1885,2-3.
63
T, 29 August 1885, 10.
 108

unreserved praise, and due reference made to the ovations given to the composer at the

ends of both parts of the work. Hueffer concludes, very fairly, by stating his opinion

that such a work 'cannot be judged by a first hearing and at the end of a long and

fatiguing festival'.

In his Daily Telegraph review, Bennett repeats some of the comments in his earlier

articles, extolling the virtues of modem English music as overcoming 'continental

prejudice' (especially German), and reiterating his delight that Stanford's new oratorio

has forsaken the 'excesses' of some earlier works:

It is a noble English work, and all the more welcome because springing from a source whence has flowed
music painfully imitative of an alien style, which I hope never to see naturalised in this country. Mr.
Stanford has sobered down from the, shall I say, exaltation of youth, and in his latest work speaks with
the measured force and plain directness of musical maturity. A hearty welcome to this change, for it
64
implies the gain to true art of a gifted man ...

Later, after referring to Stanford's 'discreet' use ofleading-motives, Bennett stresses the

fact that 'In other respects the music is free from devices to which the ultra-modem

school is fettered', reflecting the composer's ability to 'associate a modem spirit with

the artistic methods which have come down to us consecrated by genius, and made

authoritative by tradition'. There follows at this point a brief resume of Bennett's

artistic creed:

Those of us who call ourselves musical Conservatives are sometimes charged with advocating the fmality
of the Art. Nothing could be further from the truth. We hail progress and development along the ancient
lines, as in the case under notice. What we do oppose is the setting up of new fundamental principles, the
creation of yesterday, and the offspring in too many cases of personal vanity or scheming incompetence.65

Commenting upon individual movements, Bennett praises all the numbers in part one,

most especially its final choral fugue:

"The heathen shall fear Thy name", of elaborate construction. Mr. Stanford is not afraid of a choral
fugue. He does not announce statement and answer, and then run away like "Punch's" little boy, who
chalked up ''No Popery". On the contrary, he stands to his guns, and fights the action out like a man,
employing therein all the recognised devices of counter-point.

Part two, on the other hand, Bennett, in common with several others, reckons, with the

exception of its final chorus, as inferior, and recommends the excision of the Palestrina-

64
DTe/, 29 August 1885, 3.
65
Ibid.
 109

style number 'as being less a welcome contrast than a glaring incongruity', and there-

writing of the 'long and rather dull' tenor solo 'in a more decidedly melodious vein'.

Another substantial review in the Morning Post also awards special praise to part

one of the work, the choral fugue in particular 'exhibiting Dr Stanford as a disciple of

classic formulation' and earning 'vehement applause' and the calling of the composer

from his gallery seat. 66 Attention is also drawn to the composer's 'thought and care' in

part two, and the fmal setting of the Benedicite is said to exhibit Dr. Stanford 'at his

best', for in it he has chosen 'to follow in the footsteps of fme classic art, whatever may

have been his sins of commission and errors of omission before'. In this he appears

'clothed and in his right mind'. Clearly this critic (William Barrett?) is of the same

school of thought as Joseph Bennett.

Hugh Haweis of the Pall Mall Gazette says of The Three Holy Children that it is 'a

fine work; in fact, no English composer has ever surpassed Mr Stanford as regards a

part ofthe music. The choral writing is exceedingly fine'. There is praise for the 'fiery

and original march' in part one. Referring to this portion of the work as 'one of genius',

Haweis also notes a 'sad falling off in part two where, 'with but little exception, the

rest of the music is very dreary and dull'. 67

After stating that pressure on space precludes lengthy discussion, the Daily News

critic states that in all seventeen numbers of Stanford's oratorio he has 'manifested

powers far beyond those displayed in his many previous productions'. 'Contrapuntal

skill and dramatic expression' are evident throughout. 68

Amongst the weekly papers, the Guardian carries the most substantial revtew,

declaring at the outset The Three Holy Children to be a 'far more satisfactory' work

than the Festival's main attraction- Gounod's Mors et Vita, and predicting, from its

66
MP, 29 August 1885, 5.
67
PMG, 29 August 1885, 4.
68
DN, 29 August 1885,3.
 110

enthusiastic reception, that it will avoid the 'early death' of so many festival

compositions. 69 Further endorsement follows:

Nothing finer or more vigorous, whether in respect of its masterly conception or of its sustained power,
has yet come from the composer's pen.

Another reference is made to Stanford's ability to sustain fugal writing beyond the

exposition section, resulting here in 'the finest achievement of modem English music'

which will 'stand comparison with the masterpieces of any composer whatever' -an

extravagant claim indeed. In the second part of the oratorio the critic (Fuller Maitland

again?) feels that the effect depends 'quite as much upon the orchestral writing as upon

the vocal'. The long solo for Azarias, which some critics find dull and over-long, is

here admired, and the following Palestrina-style number rated as one of the 'most

impressive portions of the work'. The furnace music is also deemed 'exceedingly

effective', and the final double chorus is 'treated with masterly elaboration', with

· interest not only sustained but increased throughout its length.

A moderate length review in the Graphic judges the work as 'decidedly the finest

Festival work the young Irish composer has given us', citing the first part, with its

'admirably written' Handelian fugue as 'the best portion'. 70 Again, a 'falling off' is

noted in part two, the trios for the Three Holy Children and their trial in the furnace

lacking in dramatic interest, and the tenor solo 'long and feeble'. The fine Handelian

double chorus at the end, however, again shows Stanford 'at his strongest'. The article

proclaims doubts as to the merits of Gounod's work, but other new works, including

Stanford's, promise to be 'permanent and valuable additions to the repertory'.

The Athenaeum publishes a fairly substantial review, probably by Henry Frost,

which declares 'in this latest work [Stanford] has fully sustained his previous

reputation', some parts of the work being 'superior to anything that he has hitherto

69
Guard, 2 September 1885, 1289-90.
70
Graph, 5 September 1885, 262.
 111

written'. 71 The whole of part one is judged 'excellent', with 'admirable fugal writing'

in the final chorus. Here again the second part is rated, as a whole, 'distinctly inferior to

the first- not, let it be said, in the workmanship ... but in the nature of the ideas', some

numbers being 'not free from a suspicion of dryness' (including the long tenor solo).

The final chorus, however, possesses 'breadth and grandeur'. The oratorio is judged 'a

somewhat unequal work', but will rank high among the 'novelties' of the Festival.

The first of two articles printed in the Saturday Review pronounces Stanford's

oratorio as 'prolonged and scholarly', but spends more of its time comparing the

relative merits of Gounod's new work (Mors et Vita) with his earlier Redemption. 72 A

second column the following week carries a substantial review of Gounod's work

(which was heard for a second time on the last day of the Festival), dismissing The

Three Holy Children in one short paragraph, with a promise to return to it later in the

season. Yet again, part one is reckoned as the more inspired:

Dr Stanford, though we must admit the power and learning displayed in his last number, is too lavish of
his resources later on, and ends by fatiguing the ear. 73

The Musical World and the Musical Standard, both published on 5 September, are

the first of the musical journals to publish reviews of the Birmingham Festival, although

the former journal once again produces a re-print of Bennett's long article in the Daily

Telegraph.

The article in the Musical Standard, while praising many aspects of the oratorio,

points the finger at some of the reservations also expressed in certain other reviews. 74

After some initial sentences describing the 'book', 'BR' states that the initial favourable

impression of the work at rehearsal was 'vastly heightened' in the first performance.

The strength of the work resides 'in the choral element', the choruses throughout being

71
Ath, 5 September 1885, 312.
72
SatRev, 29 August 1885, 287-8.
73
SatRev, 5 September 1885, 315-6.
74
MS, 5 September 1885, 143-5.
 112

'massive, yet not deficient in melodiousness and contrast'. The accompaniments are

praised as 'vigorous and florid', the composer having a strong partiality for 'an

involuted kind of figuration, making certain passages difficult to rhythmically construe'.

The Assyrian March is particularly admired for its rhythmic structure. Having stated

his opinion that the solo music throughout is inferior to the chorus work, the reviewer

nevertheless singles out for praise the long tenor aria in part two criticised in many other

papers. He refers to the 'scholarly' expertise of the final double chorus, and cites the

opening instrumental movement as showing 'fluency in figural or contrapuntal writing'.

Whilst agreeing that the oratorio represents 'a distinct gain for English art', the reviewer

questions whether its composer 'has not the ability to do something even better',

describing him as 'a young Titan who is evidently able to fill up his structures without

the expenditure of much effort' -another reference to Stanford's technical prowess and

daunting fluency. 'BR' wonders, in fact, whether this very compositional fluency might

not prove 'detrimental to the chances of an enduring work'.

The Musical Times publishes a longish review (nearly two full columns from its

'Special Correspondent', probably Henry Lunn), much of it given over to a description

of individual movements. 75 Here again, the final choruses of both parts are awarded the

highest praise. Certain solo movements are also warmly received, though some of the

music in part two is thought to 'lack strong dramatic feeling', and the final paragraph

once again rates the second part as inferior to the first, although 'the dryness of some of

the pieces in the second part ... must be only slightly dwelt upon in reviewing a really

admirable work'.

Finally, Stephen Stratton, in his relatively brief Monthly Musical Record article,

reaches much the same conclusions as the Musical Times and Daily Telegraph reviews,

75
MT, 1 October 1885, 591-2.
 113

seeing part two of the oratorio as more diffuse and somewhat less effective in toto than

part one, but singling out the fmal choruses of both parts for the highest praise. 76

It is perhaps inevitable that journalists at Birmingham in 1885 should draw

comparisons between two new oratorios. A close comparison of their comments reveals

some interesting, and perhaps unexpected trends, however (see Table 4). Gounod,

though not an Englishman, has already length of experience and a reputation to

recommend him above Stanford, a relative newcomer, and Mors et Vita excites

considerable expectations amongst press and public alike (reinforced by the allocation

of two performances of the work within the festival). Gounod's oratorio, however,

proves a disappointment, with only two of the reviews consulted giving it unreserved

praise, and fifty percent of articles expressing (sometimes severe) criticism. By

comparison, Stanford's work fares well, for although certain parts of it fail to find

favour, a much higher proportion of critics (23 out of 28) give the Holy Children

qualified approval, as against two-thirds in the case of Mors et Vita. This may well be

due in part to the desire of English critics to praise and encourage a new and ambitious

work by a young native composer, although praise is here so often tempered by

comment upon Stanford's impeccable and 'clever' technique being paired with a

perceived aridity and coldness of expression: a criticism that would dog the composer

for many years to come, although never again so plentifully expressed as in connection

with his first attempt at oratorio. 77

The Three Holy Children is the first major choral work of Stanford where critical

comment is so plentiful that it offers some depth of insight into contemporary opinions

of his development as a composer. Warm and effusive praise for almost any new

English music was fairly commonplace at the time, and was awarded initially to many

works which soon disappeared from the performance repertory - and The Three Holy
76
MMR, I October 1885, 221-4.
77
The Elegiac Ode reviews commenting on technique bear no suggestion of such emotional detachment.
 Table 4
Press reception comparison of new works, Birmingham Festival 1885

The Three Holy Children (Birmingham 28 August 1885)

No. of reviews consulted 28
Wholly laudatory 5
Laudatory with reservations 23
Critical 0
Comments on technique/cleverness 14
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 10

Stanford: The IJtru HDIJ,· a..wlren

(Birmingham 28 August 1885)

c No. of reviews consulted

• Wltolly laudatory

o Laudatory with
reservations
o Critical

• Comments on
technique/cleverness
o Comments on emotional
coldness/detachment

Comparison: Mors et Vita- Gounod (Birmingham 26 & 28 August 1885)

No. of reviews consulted 16
Wholly laudatory 2
Laudatory with reservations 10
Critical 8
Comments on technique/cleverness 3
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 0

Comparison: Mors d Vl/4 - Gounod

(Birmingham 26 & 28 August 1885)

18
16 c No. of review s consulted
16
14 • Wholly laudatory

12
o Laudatory with
10 reservations
8 o Critical

6
• Comments on
4 technique/cleverness
2 o Comments on emotional
0 coldness/detachment
0
 115

Children comes into this category, having received only a very few further

performances after its initial success at Birmingham. 78 The profusion of laudatory

comments upon Stanford's fugal writing is another indication of the obsession with

such things at the time, but the comments referring to his technical proficiency and

fluency were to be repeated many times over the years, hinting at the notion that this

facility in some way robbed his music of ultimate greatness. Benjamin Britten was to

suffer a similar fate half a century or so later. One fmal point worthy of note in

connection with Stanford's first oratorio is the fact that the final chorus from part one,

'The heathen shall fear Thy name', was performed separately as an anthem at St Paul's

Cathedral on at least two occasions. 79

The Revenge: an unpretentious choral ballad wins enormous popular success

In 1886, for the third year in succession, Stanford achieved notable success with a new

choral work at a major regional festival. On this occasion, however, there were some

small but significant differences. Submitted to the Leeds Festival committee early in

the year, Stanford's setting of Tennyson's poem The Revenge was the only one of

fourteen unsolicited works chosen for first performance that year alongside several

official commissions, including Sullivan's Golden Legend. 80

Stanford's new choral ballad, designed on a much less ambitious scale than The

Three Holy Children, and also less demanding in resources than the Elegiac Ode,

promised well from the outset. The composer had felt, intuitively and, as it turned out,

entirely correctly, that his choice of Tennyson's patriotic text would win the hearts of

the British public. On the very day of his completion ofthe score (11 January 1886) he

played it over to Parry, who was most impressed by its effectiveness and predicted its

78
Only seven further performances have been traced, two of them incomplete, the last of them in 1894.
79
1 October 1893 and 10 October 1897.
80
See Rodmell, Stanford, 119.
 116

success. 81 The indications of an impressive launch for The Revenge were heightened by

Stanford's first rehearsal with the Leeds chorus in June, the Musical Opinion reporting:

On entering the hall, the composer was received with cordial applause ... the cantata was gone through
with remarkable smoothness, stoppages being rare, and then relating only to some minor point. At its
conclusion the composer expressed his great satisfaction, observing that he could not imagine the work
more finely sung, the notes being correct, and the expression exactly what he wanted. 82

In the days immediately before its first performance at the Leeds Festival on 14

October, press previews of the forthcoming festival predict a good reception for The

Revenge. A lengthy article in the Musical Times describing the 'Leeds Festival

Novelties' devotes a generous paragraph to Stanford's work, stating that The Revenge

derived immense advantage from its subject, dealing with heroic deeds at sea. 83

Stanford has matched Tennyson's 'spirited verse' with 'spirited music', and the

expectation is that the choral ballad will 'become a favourite with choirs and public

alike'. Reference is also made to the composer's devising of themes in the 'traditional

style and character of the nautical ditty', and the paragraph concludes by predicting that

the work will probably 'do as much for Mr. Stanford's popularity as the best of his more

ambitious efforts'.

In his Daily Telegraph article previewing the new festival works, Joseph Bennett

writes of his certainty that Stanford has risen successfully to the challenge of setting

such an emotive and colourful text, also referring with approval to melodies 'of the

genuine sea-song type'. Bennett has no hesitation in predicting that 'this "Choral

Ballad" will stir the hearts of Englishmen everywhere and be universally popular'. 84

The Morning Post is briefer and more muted in its predictions, limiting its

comments on The Revenge to a single sentence:

Dr. Villiers Stanford has a choral setting of Tennyson's poem, "The Revenge," and this appears on Eaper
to be somewhat better than other things his skill has furnished to the literature of music of late years. 5

81
Diary of Hubert Parry, II January I886, cited in Dibble, Stanford, I78.
82
MO, I July 1886,467.
83
MT, I October 1886, 577-9.
84
DTe/, 8 October 1886, 3.
85
MP, 12 October 1886, 5.
 117

Stanford's own feelings just prior to the first performance are consistent with his

first impressions back in June, for he writes to Hallam Tennyson, the poet's son, on 10

October:

The chorus is magnificent, also the band. You will never hear it anywhere else so splendidly done. Do
try to come. 86

The day following its first performance, the local press leads a veritable paean of

praise for The Revenge. In an unusually long column dealing solely with the work,

Herbert Thompson, newly appointed critic of the Yorkshire Post, begins by saying that

the audience has been well-disposed to Stanford's new work, partly because of the

popularity of the poem, but also because his reputation has preceded him to Leeds. 87 He

also points out that the ballad provides a welcome contrast to the festival diet of

oratorios and cantatas. Thompson declares that The Revenge is 'effective and well-

handled', the 'straightforward musical narrative' being given 'ample variety' and giving

scope for the composer's 'powers of dramatic portrayal'. Tennyson's 'straightforward,

simple, and vigorous verse' has been matched by music with similar qualities. The

work displays 'considerable judgement and taste' and encourages the hope that Stanford

might on a future occasion be represented by a work 'of greater pretensions'. 88 There

follows a lengthy but appreciative account of the work, section by section. The success

of the performance was attended by much cheering from the audience, which recalled

the composer three times to the platform. Towards the end of this substantial article,

Thompson thinks it safe to predict 'that this choral ballad will become a favourite study

with provincial music societies'. Such is not, he adds, the fate of many other Festival

works, which will receive a further performance in London, and thereafter 'sink into

oblivion'. He then concludes with a perceptive analysis of the reasons for the

86
Letter from Stanford to Hallam Tennyson, I 0 October 1886, cited in Dibble, Stanford, 178.
87
YP, 15 October 1886, 5.
88
A hope which was fulfilled three years later with the appearance of The Voyage of Mae/dune.
 118

disappearance of so many new choral works after two or three performances, suggesting

that their survival or otherwise is in many cases due not to intrinsic merit, but to many

of them being either too difficult and complicated for amateur performance, or 'too

scholarly to be generally acceptable'. It could well be argued that both The Three Holy

Children and Stanford's later oratorio Eden ultimately failed for such reasons.

A somewhat shorter yet still substantial review in the Leeds Mercury reports a

crowded audience, doubtless attracted by a setting of Tennyson's popular poem telling

one of the most thrilling stories in English history. 89 The critic wonders that such a

poem was not set to music long before, stating that Stanford has been lucky in this

respect: 'He entered upon a grateful task, with, considering his known ability as a

composer, absolute assurance of good result'. Reference is made to themes 'suggestive

of the nautical ballad' being treated 'with all the resources of his art', yet being

abandoned at those points in the story which demand it. Praise is once again given for

the matching of the text with music which entirely captures the right spirit and mood.

Unlike the Yorkshire Post, the critic claims: 'there is really no provocation to minute

criticism, but everything broadly and fully to enjoy'. The article concludes by stating

that the orchestra and chorus performed extremely well, 'the result being such as, we

should say, fully satisfied the composer, who conducted with the mingled caution and

impulse that invariably distinguish him'- a rare but revealing comment upon Stanford's

conducting style.

Turning to the national daily papers, Hueffer' s relatively brief review in The Times

begins by extolling the nature of Tennyson's ballad, and stating that it turns a 'popular

tale' into 'high class literature'. It is unnecessary to go into detail, since the poem is

familiar to most readers. 90 Of the music, he says: 'Mr. Stanford has fully entered into

the spirit of his theme, which he treats in an unconventional and at the same time highly
89
LM, 15 October 1886, 5.
90
T, 15 October 1886, 10.
 119

impressive manner'. A brief description of the work follows, with appreciative

comments, apart from one quibble concerning an allegedly misplaced verbal accent.

There is yet another reference to the opening theme's similarity to a nautical ballad-

'worthy of Dibdin'. Hueffer concludes: 'If "The Revenge" does not become widely

popular among choral societies it will be to the loss of those societies'.

In his second Daily Telegraph article, Bennett asserts that, having already discussed

the work a few days previously, his main task is to assess the performance. He

nevertheless feels duty-bound to praise once again Stanford's 'vigorous and successful

work' which embraces 'a remarkably happy blending of popular theme and artistic

treatment' .91 He declares, furthermore, that he could think of no similar work, and that

The Revenge suggests 'possibilities of doing much towards bridging over the gulf

between the "million" and the cultured few in the matter of a common musical

sympathy'. The column finishes with a brief but laudatory account ofthe performance,

praising the Leeds chorus in particular.

The Daily News carries a substantial review which again mentions a 'crowded

audience'. Of the work, the critic says:

Mr. Stanford has clothed [the poem] in music so redolent of the bold, rollicking, nautical atmosphere, and
so graphically giving expression to the Laureate's words, that no Briton can listen to it with pulse
unstirred. 92

There is a later reference to Stanford's setting as possessing 'appropriate discreetness

and broad simplicity' together with 'a keen perception of dramatic effect that never fails

of its purpose, and which urges on the story without let or hindrance'. The final verdict

upon The Revenge is that 'Mr. Stanford has written a vivid, powerful, patriotic, and

masterly work of its class, which has commenced what must prove a long career of

popularity'. The article concludes by commenting upon the audience's highly

enthusiastic reception of the work.

91
DTel, 15 October 1886, 3.
92
DN, 15 October 1886, 3.
 120

As had been the case with the Elegiac Ode two years before, the Morning Post critic

takes a less than favourable view of The Revenge. In a relatively short notice, devoting

only a couple of dozen lines to Stanford's work, the critic first informs readers that,

apparently, the composer had initially written the ballad for male voices only, later

adapting it to its final form for mixed chorus. Next declaring that Tennyson's poem

demands a wholly English treatment, the reviewer complains that Stanford's sole

concession to 'Englishness' seems to be 'an occasional musical phrase which recalls in

mind the melodies of Dibdin, or the harmonies of Dr. Calcott', and that he has set most

of the work in modem German style, such that it might just as easily have come from

the pen of Brahms. This rather jaundiced review concludes, moreover, that the singing

of the chorus - praised in most other reviews - was in places less than perfect, and the

performance as a whole was not as good as it should have been. 93

Amongst the weekly journals, the Guardian carries, as so often at this period, one of

the most substantial reviews ofthe whole Leeds Festival, saying of The Revenge:

[Stanford's] work is instinct with a vigour and power that quite carry the hearers away; it is dramatic in
the hi~est sense . . . and it may lay claim to the proud distinction of being a real interpretation of the
poem.

Then follows a statement which conflicts directly with the opinion expressed in the

Morning Post:

The music is written in a thoroughly English style, and with all possible mastery and knowledge of effect.

No complaint of Germanic influence here! Of the performance, the critic (once again

'J.M.') comments that, as sung by the festival choir, the work's success was 'a foregone

conclusion', but the enthusiastic reception 'exceeded all expectations'. At the end of

the whole festival article, the writer concludes:

In The Golden Legend and The Revenge two works have been brought to a hearing which will take a
position of no small importance in the history of English music.

93
MP, 15 October 1886, 5.
94
Guard, 20 October 1886, 1554-5.
 121

The following Saturday's full-length festival review in the Athenaeum praises

Stanford's work in slightly different terms. 95 As in the Leeds Mercury article a few

days previously, the Athenaeum's critic (Henry Frost again?) expresses some surprise

that Tennyson's poem has not been previously set to music, but says that Stanford,

being 'first in the field', has produced a work which would make him known in areas

where his 'more ambitious efforts' - such as the Elegiac Ode and The Three Holy

Children- 'could not hope to gain a footing'. The writer suggests that it was Stanford's

duty, in setting this particular text, to preserve 'the bold, straightforward, and homely

style of the typical sea song', adding 'such elements as should suffice to constitute a

work of art'. 'This', he continues, 'Dr. Stanford has succeeded in accomplishing in the

happiest manner', and predicts that, without any doubt, the work would become

'immensely popular with choral societies and the public'. In its final sentence, this

commentary concurs with the Morning Post's opinion of the performance itself, judging

that it was not up to the usual Leeds standard, the chorus basses being 'splendid', but

the tenors 'weak'.

A shorter festival review m the Graphic deals with The Revenge in a single

sentence, saying that Stanford has 'exactly caught the spirit of the Laureate's lines', and

that his 'briefbut most effective little work' is likely to gain immediate popularity. 96

Comments in the musical journals following the Leeds premiere of The Revenge are

mostly brief, yet, in the main, laudatory. The Musical Times, having already published

a preview of the work, contents itself with a paragraph of moderate length which

affirms that the 'fme and bold' composition 'more than justified anticipatory remarks',

and goes on to praise Stanford's use of nautical themes, also describing how certain

sections of the work, most especially the battle sequence, 'came out with force and

95
Ath, 23 October 1886, 541-3.
96
Graph, 23 October 1886,435.
 122

grandeur' in the performance. The whole work 'made an impression which should

secure for Mr. Stanford a sympathetic hearing' upon his next appearance in Leeds. 97

The Musical Standard gives a brief mention to the success the performance and its

good reception, 98 but the Monthly Musical Record, although supplying a substantial

review of the Leeds Festival as a whole, vies with the Morning Post to denounce The

Revenge as briefly as possible:

[The Revenge] is set to words by Tennyson. The composer has done his best to overscore the work, and
to make it as little like an English composition as possible. He has taken Brahms as his model, and has
most sincerely flattered his prototype. 99

Further performances of Stanford's choral ballad followed quickly, the first

recorded London performance being given in one ofNovello's Oratorio Concerts at St

James's Hall on 14 December, following which press reports continue to speak

enthusiastically of the work. As, following critical prediction, the piece was taken up

during the ensuing months by an ever-increasing number of choral societies throughout

the country, brief notices of performances in the musical press are most often qualified

with descriptions of the ballad as 'stirring', 'captivating', 'a little masterpiece', and so

on. Just occasionally does there appear a negative opinion of the work, one example

being a dismissal of it, again in the Monthly Musical Record, following a performance

by the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society, where it was programmed together with

Sullivan's Golden Legend:

Stanford's cantata, "The Revenge," preceded Sullivan's work. It should have followed it; and then all
who wished to hear the whole of the Golden Legend could have done so without the interruption caused
by those who had to catch early trains. 100

A comparison of early press comment on these two works, first performed in close

proximity to each other at Leeds, reveals a remarkable parity of enthusiasm. All

consulted reviews of The Golden Legend shower praise upon the latest work from an

97
MT, 1 November 1886,653-7.
98
MS, 23 October 1886, 256-7.
99
MMR, 1 November 1886,246-8.
100
MMR, I February 1887, 42-3.
 123

already popular composer, some referring in glowing terms to Sullivan's technical

accomplishment, while at the same time the vast majority of critics appear equally

impressed with The Revenge - a more modest work by a younger man who has still to

make his mark (see Table 5).

The one celebrated critic to express disappointment with The Revenge is,

unsurprisingly, George Bernard Shaw who, following a Bach Choir concert on 10 May

1890 including the work alongside Mozart's Requiem, offers this witty but devastating

judgement:

It turned out that the Requiem was only a clever device of Mr Stanford's to make his setting of
Tennyson's Revenge seem lively by force of contrast. But it would have needed half a dozen actual
funerals to have done that. I do not say that Mr Stanford could not set Tennyson's ballad as well as he set
Browning's Cavalier songs, if only he did not feel that, as a professional man with a certain social
position to keep up, it would be bad form to make a public display of the savage emotions called up by
the poem. But as it is, Mr Stanford is far too much the gentleman to compose anything but drawing-room
or classroom music. There are moments here and there in The Revenge during which one feels that a
conductor of the lower orders, capable of swearing at the choir, might have got a brief rise out of them;
and I will even admit that the alternating chords for the trombones which depict the sullen rocking of the
huge Spanish ship do for an instant bring the scene before you; but the rest, as the mad gentleman said to
Mrs Nickleby, is gas and gaiters. It is a pity; for Mr Stanford is one of the few professors who ever had
any talent to lose. 101

Shaw's distaste for the music of the 'music-school' composers became well-known,

and is later echoed by other critics, notably John Runciman. Some of his reservations

concerning Stanford are, however, periodically expressed by writers more generally

well-disposed towards his music. 102 Underlying a fair amount of critical comment on

Stanford's music is a desire to see in it a greater degree of emotional feeling: it is often

implied that the composer finds it difficult to 'let himself go', and some feel that

technical skill is stifling his true genius.

Despite the protestations of Shaw and one or two others, however, the fact remains

that, for the overwhelming majority of English lovers of choral music, Stanford's

Revenge became an immediate 'hit', and rapidly established itself as the most popular of

all his choral works intended for the concert hall, receiving hundreds of performances

101
'Gas and Gaiters', The Star, 16 May 1890, reprinted in Laurence (ed.), Shaw's Music, vol. 2, 65-9.
102
Stratton's Birmingham Daily Post review of The Three Holy Children was an earlier example of this.
See page 106.
 Table 5
Press reception comparison of new works, Leeds Festival 1886

The Revenge (Leeds 14 October 1886)

No. of reviews consulted 19
Wholly laudatory 16
Laudatory with reservations 2
Critical
Comments on technique/cleverness
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment

Stanford; Tlu Revenge (Leeds 14 October 1886)

20
18 Ic No. of reviews consulted
16
• Wllolly laudatory
14
12 o Laudatory with
reservations
10
o Criical
8
6 • Comments on
technique/cleverness
4
o Comments on emotional
2 coldness/detachment
0

Comparison: The Golden Legend - Sullivan (Leeds 16 October 1886)

No. of reviews consulted 14
Wholly laudatory 14
Laudatory with reservations 0
Critical 0
Comments on technique/cleverness 4
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 0

Comparison: T/u Golden Ugttnd - Sullivan

(Leeds 16 October 1886)

16
14 14 c No. of reviews consulted
14

12 • Wholly laudatory

10 o Laudatory with
reservations
8
o Critical
6
• Convnents on
4
technique/cleverness
2 o Comments on emotional
0 coldness/detachment
0
 125

not only throughout the British Isles, but also in places as far off as Cape Town and

Valetta (Malta). 103 Such popularity, retained until the middle years of the twentieth

century, is explained by several features of the work. Apart from Stanford's choice of

text, which had enormous appeal at a time when the British Empire was at its peak,

interest in the Elizabethan period was being revived, and England's naval supremacy

was to the fore, The Revenge required no soloists, was devoid of complicated

contrapuntal writing, was fairly short (about twenty-five minutes), and could, if

necessary, be performed with piano accompaniment instead of an orchestra. These

qualities made it performable by small choirs in remote places and with limited access

to orchestral players. There was, moreover, no other choral work of a similar nature to

rival the supremacy of Stanford's ballad in the hearts and minds of choral singers. Only

with the appearance of the same composer's Songs of the Sea and Songs of the Fleet in

the early years of the next century would there be any serious rivals to its popularity. 104

Stanford's first published anthem and other minor works

Soon after the initial success of The Revenge, Novello's produced Stanford's first

published anthem - a setting of Psalm 23, and a work which was to establish itself

firmly in the repertoire of many a church and cathedral choir, retaining its popularity to

the present day. Reviews of printed music were fewer in number than critical accounts

of concerts, and many journals and newspapers rarely, if ever, indulged in them. There

are, however, two directly contrasted reviews of The Lord is my shepherd. The Musical

Times thinks the piece very worthy of its composer, praising in particular the

'charming' opening chorus and the 'striking harmonic progressions' in the largely

unison section 'Yea though I walk' . 105 A far less positive opinion is expressed, yet

103
See Chapter I, 35, fu. 77 for details of the huge numbers of vocal scores sold by Novello.
104
See Rodmell, Stanford, II9-I2I for further discussion of the work's popular appeal.
105
MT, I November I886, 673.
 126

again, in the Monthly Musical Record, dismissing this fairly substantial anthem in the

following terms:

There is nothing remarkably original in the design or treatment of the words of the 23rd Psalm, here set to
music, beyond the importation of a certain Teutonic element in the utilisation of a very feeble motto
phrase. The music, which appears to have been adapted as a matter of convenience, would be equally
appropriate to other words. The anthem will find great favour where the dull and uninteresting have
power to charm. 106

Clearly, the opposition of this journal's critic to Stanford's music shows no sign of

abatement. Time, however, would tell very much in favour of the piece, which has long

held an honoured place in the Anglican choir repertory, and was once described by

Stanford's erstwhile pupil Herbert Howells as 'one ofthe supremely lovely anthems of

all our history' . 107

Of the few small choral works which appeared between 1887 and 1889 little need be

said. The largest of them, a setting of Psalm 150 and the Carmen Saeculare, were

occasional works, the former written for a trade exhibition in Manchester and the latter

for the Queen's golden jubilee. They served their purpose efficiently and were then

forgotten. The smaller church pieces - the Service in F and the two short anthems And I

saw another angel and If thou shalt confess were all published by Novello and briefly
reviewed in the Musical Times, duly taking their place in the repertory of several choirs

for some decades to come. None of these choral pieces added anything of great

significance to Stanford's reputation or provoked much discussion, however.

Another choral ballad for Leeds: The Voyage ofMae/dune

When it became clear that Sullivan would be unable to complete his commissioned

piece for the 1889 Leeds Festival, the festival committee, doubtless mindful of the huge

success of The Revenge three years before, was only too willing to accept another new

choral work from Stanford's pen. The composer, probably keen to build on his recent

106
MMR, 1 March 1887, 65.
107
Herbert Howells, 'Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924): An Address at his Centenary', Proceedings
of the Royal Musical Association (11 December 1952), 26.
 127

success, but also anxious to pay further tribute to the poet laureate, had already chosen

and set another, longer ballad by Tennyson. 108 The Voyage ofMae/dune was, moreover,

also concerned with the sea, and gave, if anything, even more scope for colourful

musical setting. Altogether on a more expansive and ambitious scale than his earlier

nautical ballad, the new work was more than twice its length, involved substantial parts

for four vocal soloists, and required divisions in the chorus parts with much more

frequency. Like The Revenge, however, it was cast in one continuous movement,

though with orchestral interludes to join the various sections.

As at previous festivals, press interest in the work commenced before its first

performance on 11 October. On 28 September the Musical World prints a brief

commentary, with musical examples, on Stanford's Voyage and Parry's St Cecilia Ode,

both to receive their first hearings at the approaching festival. 109 In its October number,

the Musical Times gives a brief preview of the Leeds Festival programme, describing

Stanford's work 'vigorous, masculine, impressive, and picturesque' and judging it to be

'even better than its predecessor' .no A few days later, the Leeds Mercury reaches the

Voyage in a series of articles previewing the 'Festival Novelties', describing it as not

only the successor, but also the offspring of The Revenge. Ill The article goes on to

praise not only imaginative touches in the scoring of Tennyson's series of tableaux, but

also the sensitive setting of the text, concluding that 'connoisseurs who have looked

carefully at the "Voyage of Maeldune" will not be less astonished than disappointed

should the work fail to win the hearty approval of its fust audience'. Joseph Bennett

also contributes a substantial description of the poem and its musical setting in the Daily

Telegraph, pointing out that, although the purely narrative sections of the text have been

set in a manner similar to that used in The Revenge, the more visionary and descriptive

108
See Dibble, Stanford, 214-5.
109
MW, 28 September 1889,667-8.
no MT, I October 1889, 598.
Ill LM, 7 October 1889, 8.
 128

parts of the poem have produced some equally imaginative and evocative music from

Stanford's pen.II 2

Another batch of press comments follow the final rehearsal of the work on 7

October, and amongst these the Graphic is the most forthcoming, describing Stanford's

music as being 'enormously dramatic' and predicting that the Voyage will prove the

'favourite novelty' of the Festival. 113 Both the Yorkshire Post114 and the Musical

World, 115 on the other hand, content themselves with pointing out that the 'fme' but

demanding tenor solo part in the work induced the chosen soloist, Edward Lloyd 'to

exert himself more than he usually does at rehearsals, and with a result commensurate

with his efforts' . 116

In the wake of its first performance on 11 October, The Voyage of Mae/dune

receives, with one exception, almost unanimously laudatory treatment in the press,

though some critics are more effusive in their praise than others. Once again, the local

critics are impressed. Herbert Thompson, in his Yorkshire Post review, goes so far as to

suggest that Stanford's new ballad is superior to The Revenge, claiming its 'melodious

charm' to be 'very great' - greater than in any other of his works - and its orchestration

demonstrative of 'not merely an experienced hand, but a natural gift for writing for an

orchestra' . 117 The greatest factor contributing to the unmistakable success of the work,

Thompson continues, is the way in which the composer has 'thrown himself into the

spirit of the poem', clothing it with music of 'absolute appropriateness'. After

commenting on the 'generally excellent interpretation', although the chorus was not

quite on its best form, Thompson's conclusion is 'that on the whole it may be said that

112
DTe/, 9 October 1889,4.
113
Graph, 12 October 1889, 450-1.
114
YP, 8 October 1889, 4.
115
MW, 12 October 1889,707-8.
116 Ibid.
117
YP, 12 October 1889, 7.
 129

the Voyage of Mae/dune has begun well, and shows every sign of being a prosperous

one'.

The Leeds Mercury critic begins by stating that the considerable expectations of an

audience with vivid memories of The Revenge three years before have been 'entirely

met' by the new work. 118 He then draws attention to two distinctly different types of

music in the Voyage: the dramatic music of the narrative sections, and the more

picturesque and descriptive music for each of the islands visited on the voyage itself.

After referring to the delight with which this latter music was received by the audience,

the writer claims that a certain degree of familiarity will be required before an audience

can fully appreciate some of the earlier narrative sections of the work. He nevertheless

judges the Voyage to be a 'remarkable creation' which, along with Parry's St Cecilia's

Day, will make the 1889 Festival 'memorable in English musical history'.

A review in The Times, quite possibly at this date by the paper's new critic, John

Fuller Maitland, takes pains to point out the unfairness of judging the Voyage as if it

were a sequel to The Revenge. The two works, says the article, are bound to differ in

their appeal, for whilst the earlier ballad could not fail to appeal to the patriotic instincts

of every British listener, the Voyage, with its more remote and mystical subject, is likely

to elicit the warmest appreciation only from 'musicians who possess a certain amount of

feeling for the picturesque treatment of a romantic subject' . 119 There follows,

nevertheless, an appreciative account of the work's musical content, section by section,

the description 'picturesque' being applied to more than one passage.

Bennett, in his Daily Telegraph review, continues to enthuse over the work, saying

that, despite the expectations of an audience which remembered The Revenge, the new

ballad soon 'held the field on its own account'. Pointing out the huge difference in the

nature of Tennyson's two texts, and the greater popular appeal of The Revenge, Bennett
118
LM, 12 October 1889, 3.
119
T, 12 October 1889, 7.
 130

praises Stanford's ingenuity and manner of treatment in the Voyage, stating that his

music, 'strong in expression and vivid in colouring, comes to the help of the narrative,

clothing it with the attraction which only music can supply'. 120 Attributing

shortcomings in the performance to the difficulty of the music, the article nevertheless

regards such defects as relatively minor ones in a generally good presentation of the

work.

The Daily News predicts that, on the impression of its first hearing, the Voyage is

likely to prove the most important of the Festival's new works. 121 Eschewing detailed

analysis, the writer states merely that the narrative style of The Revenge has here been

'developed and fully amplified', incorporating the use of 'representative themes'. There

follows, as in most other reviews, a brief but appreciative account of the various

sections of the work, concluding with general praise for the standard achieved in

performance.

Yet again, it is the Morning Post that adopts a different and less laudatory approach.

After pointing to some of the difficulties provided by a certain lack of variety in the text

-especially Tennyson's use of the introduction 'And we came' for one section after

another (a weakness referred to by some other critics), the writer dismisses Stanford's

setting thus:

There is too much straining after an originality which is never attained, despite the fact that the vocal
passages, even for the chorus, are as uninteresting and as difficult as they can well be made. The solos
derived their chief attraction from the charm of the voices of the singers ... The difficulties of the vocal
and instrumental portions of the "Ballad" may be the means of restricting its study to all but the very best
choirs, and its performance by them to few occasions. It is, of course, a clever piece of musical mosaic,
but it is hardly like to prove so acceptable to choral societies as the ballad of"The Revenge." 122

Here again is voiced that criticism of Stanford's technical prowess which some thought

detrimental to his creative force. The assessment of the difficulties in the work as

proving an impediment to future performance did, however, have some justification,

120
DTel, 12 October 1889, 3.
121
DN, 12 October 1889, 6.
122
MP, 12 October 1889, 5.
 131

and this reason alone could account for its failing to achieve the same degree of long-

term popularity as The Revenge.

This last sentiment is also expressed in the Athenaeum, whose critic nevertheless

judges that, although the subject of the Voyage does not 'appeal to general hearers so

powerfully as 'The Revenge'', the later work is 'in all artistic qualities its superior':

If 'The Voyage of Maeldune' does not exemplifY genius of the highest order, it commands acceptance as
the effort of a musician whose zeal and accomplishments have enabled him to show on more than one
occasion how nearly the first-named quality may be approached by simple earnestness. 123

The article also states, in an earlier sentence, that the new work is 'in all respects

satisfying, and more noteworthy for genuine inspiration than anything [Stanford] has

produced since his 'Elegiac Ode'.'

The critic of the Guardian, on this and several subsequent occasions, is Charles

Larcom Graves, who had been acquainted with Stanford since their childhood days in

Dublin. In common with several other writers, he reckons the Voyage to be 'one of the

signal successes achieved by its gifted composer', though he does criticise certain

passages of Tennyson's poem as showing his mannerisms rather too strongly, in

particular his propensity for wearisome repetition (the very point made also in the

Morning Post). He goes on to say, however: 'It is striking a striking proof of the

surpassing cleverness of the composer, that, under such disadvantageous conditions, he

should not merely have avoided failure, but compassed success'. 'The music of

Mae/dune' Graves continues, 'is always interesting and appropriate, and sometimes

really beautiful'. 124

A somewhat shorter review of the Voyage in the Saturday Review is equally

complimentary, stating that Stanford has not been slow to avail himself of the

opportunities for 'picturesque writing', and that in this respect he has 'never shown

123
Ath, 19 October 1889, 529-31.
124
Guard, 16 October 1889, 1568-9.
 132

himself stronger'. 125 In fact, concludes the critic, 'it would be very difficult to point out

weak places in any part of the score'.

Amongst the musical journals, it is the Musical Times that produces the most

substantial review of the Festival and of the Voyage. 126 After referring to the 'cumbrous

unvarying metre' of the poem, the writer goes on to praise Stanford's treatment of it,

declining to select a favourite section, since there is 'so much to applaud in all'.

Reference is again made to the composer's 'orchestral skill and ingenuity', bringing the

various scenes vividly to life, and the 'generally excellent performance' is deemed to

have done justice to the work.

Shorter accounts in the Musical Standard, Musical World and Musical Opinion are

also very positive, the Monthly Musical Record again being more reserved in its

judgement. The MS article refers to the Voyage as a 'remarkable work' containing

'striking musical contrasts and descriptive choral work', 127 while the MO declares that

'throughout the work the composer is at his best', adding that, although always showing

himself a 'musician of the first rank', Stanford does not always 'rise to his theme as

distinctly as in the present instance' . 128 The Musical World article is of special interest,

since the reviewer compares Stanford's and Parry's use of the orchestra in their

respective Festival works:

Whilst the Cambridge Professor's inclination seems to be to contrast the varied colours of the different
instruments, Dr. Parry prefers, as a rule, to employ his band as a whole, blending, instead of contrasting
the colours at his disposal. 129

The column goes on to describe the Voyage as 'one of Prof. Stanford's most brilliant,

melodious, and poetic works', showing full appreciation of the poem, which he had set

to music that is 'always appropriate and never commonplace'. The MMR Festival

review, however, contents itself with commenting:

I2S S~tRev, 26 October 1889,459-60.

126
MT, I November 1889,658-61.
127
MS, 19 October 1889,320-1.
128
MO, 1 November 1889, 70-1.
129
MW, 19 October 1889, 726-8.
 133

It was, perhaps, rather a bold undertaking to add music to Tennyson's poem, which so perfectly sings
itself, yet I think Dr. Stanford has no reason to regret what he has done. . . . The Leeds audience gave
emphatic proofs of admiration of the work; London will soon have the opportunity of confirming that
verdict if it so choose. 130

Perhaps most gratifying of all, however, both to Stanford and to all those who strove

for the wider recognition of English music, was an extremely laudatory article published

in a German musical journal and summarised in the Athenaeum:

Last week's number of the Allgemeine Musik-Zeitung contains a lengthy and eloquent article on the
recent Leeds Festival. The writer appears to have been amazed at the standard of excellence attained in
the performances, and speaks in the most glowing terms of the chorus, the orchestra, some of the
principals, and the new works of Dr. Parry and Prof. Stanford. He concludes by inviting Germany to
recognise the renaissance of music in this country and to make acquaintance with the works of our
leading composers. 131

Whilst, largely due to its complexity and the resulting difficulties of performance,

the Voyage of Mae/dune would never achieve the enormous popularity of The Revenge,

it did have occasional performances for some decades to come, and continued to attract

laudatory comments whenever it was revived, although sometimes attention was drawn

to its perceived shortcomings. Following the first London performance on 13

November 1889, for example, the Athenaeum continues to praise the work, speaking of

'the extremely polished musicianship from first to last' which is 'the perfect application

of a means to an end, and that without a suggestion of labour', adding that Stanford's

music is 'not invariably marked by spontaneity' - yet another reference to an oft-

expressed criticism ofthe composer. 132 The Pall Mall Gazette, having missed the Leeds

premier, writes appreciatively of this London hearing, yet qualifies its praise with some

criticism of the poem, of the music, which 'does not rivet one's attention until about a

third through', and of the performance itself, commenting that 'the shortcomings of the

choir should be a lesson to the conductor [Bamby] to abandon the obsolete custom of

rehearsing the choruses without either orchestra or soloists' . 133

130
MMR, I November 1889,246-9.
131
Ath, 26 October 1889, 569.
132
Ath, 16 November 1889, 681.
133
PMG, 14 November 1889,6.
 134

The first two performances of the Voyage provide a umque opportunity for

comparison with a major work by Stanford's friend and colleague Parry, whose Ode on

St Cecilia's Day was heard alongside Stanford's work first in Leeds and then in

London. Table 6 reveals a considerable parity of critical reaction, at least four-fifths of

commentators expressing unreserved admiration for both works. Adverse criticism is

seldom found- amounting only to one-tenth of comment in the case of Stanford's work,

though a brief observation comparing the orchestration of the two composers, quoted

earlier, could be viewed as more complimentary to him.

Following a Birmingham Festival performance of the Voyage in 1903, Edward

Baughan in the Monthly Musical Record thinks that its infrequent performance is

perhaps due to the 'arduous' tenor solos, yet says that it is 'a good example of the

composer in his most natural vein' and 'ought to be performed more often' .134 At the

same time, the Musical Times critic feels that, although some of the solo writing is

'smooth and effective', the work as a whole lacks warm inspiration: 'it is well-made,

yet somehow or another one cannot get rid of the fact that it is made'. 135

Further evidence of the continuing differences of opinion on the Voyage may be

found following its revival by the Royal Choral Society in April 1920, when the Times

critic feels that, despite 'a good deal of picturesque music', the work is doomed to

ultimate failure because of the nature of the poem, which would almost demand

costume and action to bring it fully to life. 136 The Musical Times, on the other hand, is

full of praise, judging the ballad to be 'a work of power and imagination, and full of

stimulating music for choral singers' . 137 That such a relatively complex score should be

revived with some degree of frequency, however, is surely more likely to be an

affirmation of its merits than of its defects.

134
MMR, l November 1903,201-2.
135
MT, 1 November 1903, 725-8.
136
T, 26 April1920, 12.
137
MT, l June 1920, 402.
 Table 6
Press reception comparison of new works, Leeds Festival 1889

The Voyage of Mae/dune (Leeds 11 October 1889)

No. of reviews consulted 30
Wholly laudatory 24
Laudatory with reservations 5
Critical 3
Comments on technique/cleverness 5
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 0

Stanford: Tlu VO}·ag~ ofMuliJUIU (Leeds ll October

1889)

35 c No. of reviews consulted

30
30
• Wholly laudatory
25
D Laudatory w ith
20 reservations

15 D Critical

10 • Comments on
technique/cleverness
5 D Comments on emotional
0 coldness/detachment
0

Comparison: Ode on St Cecilia's Day- Parry (Leeds October 1889)

No. of reviews consulted 19
Wholly laudatory 16
Laudatory with reservations 3
Critical 0
Comments on technique/cleverness 2
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 0

Comparison: Ode on St Cecilia 's Day -Parry

(Leeds October 1889)

20
Ic No. of rev iew s consulted
18
16 • Wholly laudatory
14
12 D Laudatory w ith
reservations
10
D Critical
8
6 • Comments on
4 technique/clev erness

2 c Comments on emotional
coldness/detachment
0
 136

A third nautical ballad: The Battle of the Baltic

It was nearly two years after the first appearance of the Voyage that public attention was

drawn to the next new choral work from Stanford's seldom-idle pen. The Battle ofthe

Baltic was yet another nautical ballad, though this time based not on a Tennyson poem,

but on one by Thomas Campbell. In his setting, Stanford reverted to the more

straightforward forces used in the Revenge, avoiding the use of soloists, dividing chorus
138
lines only occasionally, and achieving even greater brevity than in the earlier work.

The Battle of the Baltic was given its first hearing at a London Richter Concert on 20

July 1891- in a programme which also included Beethoven's Choral Symphony.

In the wake of this performance, the general reaction of the press is to praise the

work as a worthy successor to The Revenge, although not quite its equal, and unlikely to

supplant it in popularity. Fuller Maitland, in his Times review, describes The Battle of

the Baltic as 'strenuous, spirited, and thoroughly English in style', and continues by

drawing a comparison between its calm closing section and certain Turner paintings,

such as The Fighting Temeraire, displaying a 'cool colour in the distance'. 139 Bennett

in the Daily Telegraph refers to a certain lack of 'melodic and harmonic distinction', but

praises the work's 'breadth and vigour' and some 'notable dramatic points', concluding

that this 'unambitious work' may 'gain on a second hearing' . 140 The Morning Post

notice (by William Barrett?) describes the work as 'among the most earnest of

[Stanford's] efforts', with occasional reminiscences of Weber, but nevertheless

containing some 'very striking and original thoughts' .141 The Daily Graphic states that,

despite some 'striking and beautiful moments', the overall impression of the work is

'fragmentary and lacking in continuous interest', and that it suffers, on first hearing,

138
The Novello vocal score has 33 pages, compared with the Revenge's 46.
139
T, 23 July 1891, 4.
140
DTel, 21 July 1891,3.
141
MP, 21 July 1891,3.
 137

when compared with The Revenge, 142 while in the Pall Mall Gazette Haweis regards

The Battle of the Baltic as a worthy successor to the earlier work, with its 'direct and

forcible' music, its 'broad and diatonic' thematic material, and its 'bold and striking'

harmonies. 143 Alone among the papers, the PMG regards the Richter performance as

'splendid', whereas most other reports draw attention to its shortcomings, notably the

uncertainty of the chorus.

Stanford's friend William Barclay Squire, writing in the Saturday Review, observes

the logic of following the enormously popular Revenge with a similar venture, but

observes that The Battle of the Baltic, is not so inspired and 'is not likely to equal "The

Revenge" in popular favour', while nevertheless sustaining the composer's reputation.

He continues, moreover, by cautioning against unrealistic expectations:

No composer can be expected to produce an uninterrupted series of chefs-d'oevre; the "Revenge" was a
little masterpiece, and the "Battle of the Baltic" is not, but it is an undeniably good piece of work, all the
same. 144

This assessment of the relative worth of the two ballads proved accurate in the light of

their future performance histories, for The Revenge continued to enjoy frequent

performances long after The Battle was virtually forgotten.

Not everyone agreed with this view, however, and in a substantial article reviewing

the London Musical Season the Musical Times describes The Battle as 'one of the most

satisfactory and interesting of all the novelties' of the Richter Concerts, going on to

predict that 'there is every likelihood of its sharing the popularity which [Stanford's]

famous setting of"The Revenge" has attained' . 145 In the same issue there also appears a

separate review of the concert in question, in which the writer (probably William Barrett

again) praises The Battle in very positive terms, predicting that, since the choral parts

142
DGr, 23 July 1891 5.
143
PMG, 21 July 1891,2.
144
SatRev, 1 August 1891, 140.
145
MT, 1 August 1891,457-9.
 138

146
are straightforward, the work will be frequently heard during the coming winter - a

prophesy belied by the facts, for apart from a second performance in September at the

Hereford Three Choirs Festival, its next reported appearance does not seem to be before

1893.

This second performance at Hereford, on 8 September, was conducted by the

composer, and generally reported as a considerable improvement on Richter's account.

The Saturday Review comment sums up neatly the general impression in stating that the

Richter performance showed 'the limitations of the great Viennese conductor's ability',

whereas at Hereford Stanford 'knew what he wanted' -and got it. The performance

'revealed beauties in the new work which were eclipsed in StJames's Hall last July' . 147

Earlier praise for the work's orchestration (in several journals) is reiterated, 148 but

Bennett, in the Daily Telegraph, ventures to add a suggestion that Stanford has now

'done enough for heroic nautical ballads', concluding: 'He is a versatile man. What

next?' . 149

A second oratorio: Eden

The answer to Bennett's question was not long to be sought, for the following month

saw the appearance of Stanford's second full-length oratorio - Eden - at the

Birmingham Festival.

Determined to produce something out of the ordinary for his second Birmingham

Festival choral commission, Stanford approached the poet Robert Bridges to see if he

could produce a story using as a starting point the original rough draft of Milton's

Paradise Lost, which the composer had discovered in the library of Trinity College,

Cambridge. The gestation of Bridges' text, produced in close collaboration with

146
Ibid., 473.
147
Sat Rev, 19 September 1891,333-4.
148
DGr, 9 September 1891, 7 is one example.
149
DTel, 9 September 1891, 3.
 139

Stanford, took some time, but the result was a highly individual libretto on the Fall of

Man, divided into three acts: Heaven, Hell, and Earth. Discussion between the two men

further produced a scheme in which the 'heavenly' music of the first act would be

largely based on the ancient church modes and plainsong, while the remaining two acts

would utilise more modem harmonic and melodic forms. At this point, due credit must

be given to Stanford who, realising that his knowledge of modal writing was imperfect

- the chink in his technical armour - resolved to seek expert advice on the subject.

'There was one musician in England who had the tradition at his fmger's ends ... W.S.

Rockstro. I went off to Torquay to suck his brains, and worked away with him to repair

this omission in my early training.' 150

The final result of the best part of a year's work on the score - a long time by the

composer's standards, for he normally worked with great speed- was the largest of all

Stanford's choral works, and one which is quite unlike any other of his compositions, or

indeed any other existing oratorio. 151

Public interest in the new work was aroused by press notices some time in advance

of the first performance, beginning at least as early as June 1891, when Musical News

reports on a Birmingham chorus rehearsal of Eden, directed by Stanford, who was

sufficiently pleased to declare the choir ready to sing his work the following day if

needed. 152 Further commentary upon preliminary rehearsals appears during July and

August, 153 and by September the press coverage is becoming more frequent, including

an extensive analytical article on Eden published in a special supplement to the Musical

Standard, itself apparently an abridged re-print of an article published in the

Birmingham Gazette on 20 August. 154 In the days immediately preceding the first

150
Stanford, Pages, 274.
151
For further information on the gestation of Eden see Dibble, Stanford, 220-224.
152
MN, 26 June 1891,343.
153
See, for example, MT, I July 1891, 420-1; MN, 14 August 1891,485-7.
154
MS, 12 September 1891,218-9.
 140

performance, both Musical Times and Musical News print reviews of the scores of all

three Festival 'novelties' -the other two works being Mackenzie's setting of the hymn

Veni Creator Spiritus and Dvotak's Requiem. 155 Expectations for Eden appear to have

been high, the Musical News article, for example, describing the score as 'characterised

by a musicianly skill and much artistic thought' and a work that 'will add to

[Stanford's] reputation and command a wide-spread interest'.

The first performance of Eden on 7 October was uniformly judged a success, and

attended by a great many representatives of the press. Even Shaw - the arch-enemy of

choral festivals - was present. In view of the advance interest generated in the work,

and its perceived importance, moreover, it would be surprising if many critics sent

deputies to report upon such an auspicious occasion. We can then, perhaps, assume that

most, if not all, reviews were penned by chief critics - at any rate some consolation

when attempting to identify writers of articles mostly unsigned.

Three Birmingham papers carry substantial reviews of the Festival performance of

Eden, though, since they had previously carried descriptive articles on the work,

commentary on Bridges' text is confmed to little more than reiterated approval and

admiration. Stephen Stratton, in the Birmingham Daily Post, judges Stanford's music

'scholarly as well as expressive' but 'essentially modem and dramatic'. He furthermore

claims that, despite there being no formal division into musical numbers, and each of

the three acts being a continuous movement, "'form", in its higher sense, pervades every

section'. In common with many other critics, he takes pains to praise the composer's

'wonderful picturesque and varied orchestration', and concludes that, although too early

to predict the ultimate fate of Eden, its second act alone 'would make the reputation of

any composer'. 156

155
MT, I October 1891, 598-9; MN, 2 October 1891,616.
156
BDP, 8 October 1891, 8.
 141

Andrew Deakin's Birmingham Daily Gazette article declares at the outset that 'Eden

is a remarkably original work', but concludes by describing it as 'very clever if not

inspired'. The suggestion is made that Stanford has restricted the freedom of his

imagination by working to a strictly defined plan, and, while there are things in each of

the acts 'which ought to ... keep the work in permanent favour', there are other parts

which 'are likely to appeal to the music student rather than to the general hearer' -a

verdict also reached by several other critics. Like Stratton, Deakin regards the second

act as the most original in musical terms, although the last act has the 'most pleasing

melody' . 157

The Birmingham Daily Mail review uses many of the descriptive terms so often

found in criticism of Stanford's larger choral works - 'clever', 'effective', 'skilful' -

and refers to modulations as 'carefully arranged' and fugal technique which 'exhibits a

master mind'. At the conclusion of Eden the composer has 'given a musical picture

which at the least displays considerable erudition' . 158 All critics seem to admire

Stanford's supreme mastery of compositional techniques, even when they are less

convinced of his true originality or inspiration.

In his Times review, John Fuller Maitland follows a substantial and appreciative

discourse on Bridges' libretto by pointing out the expectations from a composer of

Stanford's repute in setting a text of such quality and diversity. He claims that the

composer has, nevertheless, 'done much more ... and ... has succeeded beyond all

anticipation', employing means of contrast which are 'very ingenious' and 'singularly

appropriate to the subject'. He praises the skilful use of ancient modes in act one, and

in particular the Madrigale Spirituale, claiming that 'it has been given to very few

157
BDG, 8 October 1891,6.
158
BDM, 8 October 1891,2.
 142

modem composers so completely to master the methods of this most difficult form of

composition'. Other parts of the work are praised in similarly glowing terms. 159
160
Joseph Bennett spreads his commentary in the Daily Telegraph over two days.

His first article comments upon the advance interest in Eden, describing it as 'certainly

due to a composer who has done notable things, and enriched our store of native music

with works which we shall not willingly let die'. One notable exemplification of this

interest is that Birmingham Town Hall was, apparently, completely full for the first

performance - and here Bennett once again seizes an opportunity to protest his

progressive spirit (in reply to increasing numbers who find his views reactionary):

I look upon this [capacity audience] as no less satisfactory than accountable. There is no more healthy
musical sign than a desire to become acquainted with the unknown. It guards against ruts, and ruts are as
objectionable in artistic life as on a carriage road.

The second, longer article begins with a lengthy account of Bridges' text, which Bennett

admires 'more as a poem than as a libretto, in which capacity it is not seldom

ungracious to the sister art' -an opinion echoed by a small number of other critics. The

composer has, however 'called to his aid every agency and resource' in setting this

diverse text. The use of plainsong and ancient modes in act one is effective, though

'Professor Stanford is not complimentary to the art of our own time' (in act two),

putting 'the music of antiquity into the mouths of the angels, and that of very modem

days into those of the fallen and lost'. Is there an insinuation here? (asks Bennett). His

assessment of the work continues:

Doing all this, Professor Stanford must have been conscious that his work could hardly have the
advantage of spontaneity and inspiration. He designed an elaborate structure, showing everywhere marks
of the scaffolding and the mason's tools, and as such astonishingly clever and grandiose. One cannot but
admire the architect, while regretting, perhaps, that the material has overloaded the spiritual.

Furthermore, after praising the Madrigale Spirituale, Bennett finds the 'infernal' music

of act two unattractive: 'The most beautiful of the arts should not put on the robes of

ugliness' - though even here 'the composer's cleverness stands out'. Once again that

159
T, 8 October 1891, 7.
160
DTel, 8 October 1891, 5; 9 October 1891,3.
 143

language so often encountered in assessments of this composer's choral works:

'cleverness' duly ticked, but 'spontaneity' and 'inspiration' found absent. According to

Bennett, however, not all is lost, for towards the close of Eden comes the best music:

Here, I rejoice to say, admirable effects are produced in a legitimate manner. The music, purged of
grossness, and relieved of materialism, rises easily to spiritual heights.

Those words 'in a legitimate manner' convey to us more of the critic's true

conservatism than any other single phrase in the whole article. His suggestion that the

complexity and large forces required by Eden, added to the limited musical appeal of

certain sections, may not ultimately help its survival, does however seem relevant, and

is a view echoed by others.

In the Daily News, Percival Betts describes Eden as 'the most ambitious sacred

work which the clever Irish musician has yet given us' (-that word 'clever' yet again!)

While agreeing with Bennett's view of the text, and praising the 'madrigal' as 'happily

conceived', the article continues by extolling the 'hell' choruses in act two as 'full of

vigour and life'. In the third act 'battle' choruses, moreover, Stanford is 'of course at

his best' - probably a statement influenced by the success of the nautical ballads. There

is, however, a brief reference near the end to some of the solo music, particularly that

for the tenor, being 'by no means always of the most grateful manner' - another

comment echoed elsewhere. 161

This adverse judgement of the tenor solo music appears in the Pall Mall Gazette's

short article, which reserves a more considered judgement of Eden until the forthcoming

London performance, though recognising it straight away as an 'ambitious and

scholarly composition' . 162

The Morning Post article (probably by William Barrett), after a lengthy discussion

of the libretto, concludes that Stanford has, with the application of much labour and

161
DN, 8 October 1891, 3.
162
PMG, 8 October 1891,2.
 144

ingenuity, 'succeeded in bringing forward a work which is in every way creditable to

himself and the art which he professes'. A favourable impression was created, and the

work will doubtless 'earn a good place in the esteem of musicians'. Orchestration is

identified (as so frequently with Stanford) as a strong point, and the summation of

comment is that in Eden 'Dr. Stanford displays some of the fmest, most thoughtful, and

picturesque music he has yet given to the public. Much of it is sensational ... much of it

is beautiful, all of it clever' (once again!). 163

Of the remaining London-based daily papers, both the Daily Chronicle and the

Daily Graphic publish substantial reviews re-stating for the most part opinions already

expressed elsewhere. 164 Both papers highlight the second act of Eden, the DChr

describing the 'wonderful character' of Satan's music as 'weird, grim, and thoroughly

indicative of power to be exercised for mischief, the DGr describing the whole act as

'exceedingly powerful and full of sombre picturesqueness'. While the former paper

finds the Adam and Eve scene too lengthy, the latter extols it as 'perfectly beautiful-

quite the most lovely thing that Dr. Stanford has ever written'. The DGr is bolder in its

verdict that the oratorio 'is in many ways the most ambitious and the strongest of all

[Stanford's] works'; the DChr declines to prophesy the work's future, but says that 'if

not destined to carry Professor Stanford much further on the road to fame, it contains

abundant evidence that he is not disposed to remain where he is without making a

strenuous effort for advancement'.

Amongst the weekly journals, the account in the Graphic 165 bears considerable

similarity to that in the Daily News, indicating the probability that they are by the same

critic (Percival Betts). A lengthy article in the Athenaeum, probably by Henry Frost,

first makes clear the unique nature of Eden, and its deliberate use of different historical

163
MP, 8 October 1891, 5.
164
DChr, 9 October 1891, 6; DGr, 8 October 1891, 11.
165
Graph, lO October 1891,428.
 145

musical styles. Frost continues by lavishing praise on many features admired by other

critics, though he feels (also in common with two or three other writers) that act one is

rather too long for its content. Also like other critics, he finds the composer 'at his best'

in the 'Masque of Evils' and the 'stirring' war chorus. His conclusion echoes those of

several others:

... whatever else the score of 'Eden' may be, it is a monument of superb musicianship; and if the heart is
not always touched, the intellect is invariably satisfied. We do not approve of self-imposed fetters in
composition, but it must be allowed that Professor Stanford moves in them with ease and grace. 166

Once again the impression given is of a composer of faultless technique but emotional

restraint.

William Barclay Squire, in a fairly substantial article for the Saturday Review, is

highly complimentary of both poem and musical setting, commenting that '[Stanford's]

'Eden' is a more thoughtful, interesting, and better sustained work than any he has

hitherto produced. Its extraordinary effectiveness is at once apparent; but a study of the

score shows with how much care and deliberation the result has been attained' . 167 He

continues with an account of the fluent use of modal harmonies in act one, followed by

brilliant choral and orchestral writing for the scenes in Hell. Lest unthinking critics find

the work 'patchy', however, Squire is quick to assert that 'this is precisely what Eden is

not': both poet and composer have worked to a very definite plan, and in many places

executed it with absolute mastery. The conclusion is similar to those reached by several

other critics:

In some respects Eden is a work which is likely to be more fully appreciated by musicians than by the
generality of the public; but it contains so much that the most uneducated can admire, that it ought
undoubtedly to attain the popularity which it deserves.

Here is a close friend of Stanford's doing his utmost to praise the virtues of an

important new score. Is there a significance, however, in that, even in such a case,

166
Ath, 17 October 1891,523-5.
167
SatRev, 17 October 1891,445-6.
 146

words and phrases such as 'inspired' or 'emotional impact' are conspicuous by their

absence?

Another close associate of the composer, Charles Graves, wrote a substantial article

in the Guardian in which he begins with a paragraph on modern oratorio texts:

In the matter of modem librettos, the English oratorio-going public has so long acquiesced in the
decorous doggerel, the irreproachable banality of Mr. Joseph Bennett that Dr. Stanford's audacity in
choosing a scholar and poet for his collaborator in Eden . . . could hardly fail to create an electrical
disturbance in the crass atmosphere ofBoeotia. 168

Heady stuff, with an almost Shavian ring! Graves continues with fulsome praise for

Bridges' text and Stanford's setting of it, which have resulted in 'a work of remarkable

power and interest'. Enthusiastic plaudits are given to many features of the work and to

a performance of 'quite unsurpassable excellence'.

Of the musical journals, the Musical Opinion, as on so many other occasions,

contents itself with an article reprinted from elsewhere (in this case, The Times), 169

though it does reproduce interesting, and perhaps otherwise unknown likenesses of

Stanford and of Edward Lloyd, the tenor soloist in Eden. (See Illustration 5.) Musical

News prints a single short paragraph praising Eden and exclaiming: 'Musical art is

decidedly enriched by a work of such power and poetry'. 170

In the Monthly Musical Record Stephen Stratton repeats much of what he had

previously said in the BDP, reiterating his opinion that it is a 'very remarkable work' . 171

The Musical Times carries what will prove to be William Barrett's last review

before his sudden death from influenza. 172 After referring to the considerable curiosity

aroused by the work, and claiming that further comment will be possible after the

forthcoming London performance, Barrett describes Bridges' libretto as 'vigorous

168
Guard, 14 October 1891, 1641.
169
MO, I November 1891,54-5.
170
MN, 9 October 1891, 629-30.
171
MMR, I November 1891,245-7.
172
See Hughes, English Musical Renaissance and the Press, 96.
 PROFESSOR VJLLll!RS STA.lfFOJlD.

lHlt. EDWJ..RD LLOYD.

Illustration 5: (a) Sketch of Stanford; (b) Photograph of Edward Lloyd at the time of
the first performance of Eden. From Musical Opinion, 1 November 1891, 55
 148

though not always clear'. Despite any shortcomings here, Stanford is clearly in full

sympathy with the poet:

Even those who fail to recognise the inspiration of the music and object to the composer's methods are
bound to admit his ingenui~ and the wonderful cleverness with which materials of many kinds . . . are
turned to effective account. 1 3

Here, yet again, is that praise for technique, tempered with doubts about the

inspirational and emotional qualities of the music.

It is the Musical Standard which, amongst the music journals, carries much the most

substantial article on the Birmingham Festival. As with several other published

reviews, however, a good deal of its length is preoccupied with a mere account of the

various sections of Eden - surely unnecessary when, as here, there had previously been

a separate analytical article. The critic finds the first act rather over long, though praise

is awarded to the modal writing- its 'most interesting feature' -and especially to the

Madrigale and the final fugue, which is 'almost equal in interest' to the one in the

corresponding position in The Three Holy Children. The act two choruses are 'dramatic

though somewhat noisy', but at the opening of act three 'almost for the first time, the

composer allows himself to become lyrical'. The Adam and Eve duet is 'pretty', but the

tenor solo (Michael) is not 'eminently vocal'. As for the final Masque: 'In the War

chorus, so descriptive a writer as Professor Stanford is naturally in his element'. The

concluding verdict is that, while the composer has 'attacked his task boldly', the text

needs pruning. It is, furthermore, unlikely that Eden will become popular - indeed

Stanford has made little or no concession to popular taste. 174 The main judgements

from this (unknown) critic are echoed in more than one or two other reviews.

In addition to so much press coverage of a much talked-of new work, there are, in

this instance, the comments of the inimitable George Bernard Shaw. These deserve

separate consideration, for not only was Shaw the most uninhibited of critics, saying

173
MT, 1 November 1891,660-1.
174
MS, 10 October 1891,286-9.
 149

exactly what he felt without reserve, but his literary panache is such that, whatever the

content, it makes the most entertaining reading. Although Stanford's fellow countryman

had little patience with the English obsession with oratorios or the productions of the

'music school' composers in general, he was passionate about Bach's choral works, and

was attracted to Birmingham principally to hear a performance of the St Matthew

Passion. In his article 'The Birmingham Festival' 175 he begins by amusing his readers

with an account of hurrying home from Venice, mainly to hear Bach at Birmingham,

but, after a confusion over reserved seats on the Festival's first day, being 'thrust

ignominiously into a comer in company with two drafts and an echo, and left to brood

vengefully over the performance'. After reporting that he did not, after all, think too

highly of the Matthew Passion performance either, he moves on to consider Stanford's

new oratorio, beginning thus:

It is not easy to fit Villiers Stanford's Eden with a critical formula which will satisfY all parties. If I call it
brilliant balderdash, I shall not only be convicted of having used an "ungenteel" expression, but I shall
grievously offend . . . friends of his . . . If, on the other hand, I call it a masterpiece of scholarship and
genius ... I shall hardly feel that I have expressed my own inmost mind.

He confesses to being unmoved by the use of modal harmonies, seeing no reason why

they should be thought to sound angelic, and for this and other reasons he cannot take

Eden seriously, claiming that from beginning to end he discovered nothing worthy of

the huge pretension of the work's design. 'That pretension is the ruin of Eden', he

states. There follows his often-quoted swipe at the whole group of London music

college academics:

However, who am I that should be believed, to the disparagement of eminent musicians? If you doubt
that Eden is a masterpiece, ask Dr Parry and Dr Mackenzie, and they will applaud it to the skies. Surely
Dr Mackenzie's opinion is conclusive; for is he not the composer ofVeni Creator, guaranteed as excellent
music by Professor Stanford and Dr Parry? You want to know who Dr Parry is? Why, the composer of
Blest Pair of Sirens, as to the merits of which you have only to consult Dr Mackenzie and Professor
Stanford.

Nor has Shaw finished with commenting upon Eden, for it crops again up in two

subsequent articles. The following month, on the occasion of the work's first London

175
Wo, 14 October 1891, reprinted in Shaw's Music, vol. 2, 424-430.
 150

hearing, Shaw confesses to having 'resisted the fascination of Professor Stanford's

mixolydian minstrelsy' with the intention of spending an evening at home. 176 A year

and a half later, he uses a concert performance of Stanford's 'Irish' Symphony to take

up the cudgels again, though here is revealed the root cause of his disappointment with

so much of the composer's music. Shaw clearly enjoyed the very 'Irishness' in

Stanford's symphony:

The success of Professor Stanford's Irish Symphony last Thursday was, from the Philharmonic point of
view, somewhat scandalous. The spectacle of a university professor "going Fantee" is indecorous, though
to me personally it is delightful. When Professor Stanford is genteel, cultured, classic, pious, and
experimentally mixolydian, he is dull beyond belief His dulness is all the harder to bear because it is the
177
restless, ingenious, trifling, flippant dulness of the Irishman ...

And this, for Shaw, is the crux of the matter. He enjoys those all too rare moments

when Stanford allows his true Irish nature to appear in all its vigour and freshness in his

music - free from any shackles of academic nicety or genteel restraint. Shaw continues

his analysis of Stanford's qualities thus:

But Mr Villiers Stanford cannot be dismissed as merely the Irish variety of the professorial species. Take
any of the British oratorios and cantatas which have been produced recently for the Festivals, and your
single comment on them will be - if you know anything about music - "Oh! Anybody with a bachelor's
degree could have written that." But you cannot say this of Stanford's Eden. It is as insufferable a
composition as any Festival could desire; but it is ingenious and peculiar; and although in it you see the
Irish professor trifling in a world of ideas, in marked contrast to the English professor conscientiously
wrestling in a vacuum, ... you fmd traces of a talent for composition, which is precisely what the ordinary
professor, with all his grammatical and historical accomplishments, utterly lacks. But the conditions of
making this talent serviceable are not supplied by Festival commissions.

Shaw feels very strongly that Stanford's compositional talent is considerable - and

possibly greater than that of any of his English contemporaries - but that it is too often

misdirected and wasted on unworthy projects.

Parry, dedicatee of Eden, was impressed by the first performance, finding it

'brilliantly effective' and 'much more evenly good than anything else of

[Stanford's]' .178

176
'Philemon et Baucis', Wo, 25 November 1891, reprinted in Shaw's Music, vol. 2, 464.
177
'Going Fantee', Wo, 10 May 1893, reprinted in Shaw's Music, vol. 2, 876-883.
178
Diary of Hubert Parry, 7 October 1891, quoted in Rodmell, Stanford, 157 and Dibble, Stanford, 226.
Parry was in fact so taken with Bridges' text that he developed the notion of working with the poet
himself. The fruition of this collaboration may be seen in the Invocation to Music, produced at the Leeds
Festival in 1895.
 151

Another significant choral work receiving its first performance at the 1891

Birmingham Festival was the Requiem of Dvorak, and Table 7 compares press reactions

to this work and to Eden. Here it will be observed that, although Stanford's work wins

the whole-hearted approval of fewer critics (one third) than Dvorak's (half), and

comments on the Irish composer's 'cleverness' and emotional coldness are plentiful,

more than half of the reviews consulted express reservations or outright criticism

regarding the merits of Dvorak's work- views perhaps encouraged by the composer's

apparent shortcomings as a conductor.

Three further performances of Eden followed within a few months, the first m

London's Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Choral Society conducted by Bamby. 179 In

February 1892 came a second Birmingham performance and one at the Hampstead

Conservatoire, both conducted by Stanford. 180 Each of these performances receives its

share of press coverage, though opinions expressed in the wake of the Birmingham

premier remain largely unchanged. The Pall Mall Gazette, however, having given only

a brief account of the first performance, takes Bamby's performance as an opportunity

for a more extended article, ranking Eden 'high among the oratorios which have been

written in the present day', but doubting that it will 'pass into that charmed circle

wherein the few masterpieces that are for all time ... are serenely fixed' . 181

After this first flurry of performances, Eden remained on the shelf for more than a

decade, but was then revived twice by the Leeds Philharmonic Society during

Stanford's years as its conductor. 182 Although these two performances still elicited

favourable comments in those papers which covered them, the musical world had by

this time changed, and some of the passages in the score which had seemed colourful in

the 1890s seemed less so, especially after the appearance of Elgar's masterpiece The

179
18 November 1891.
180
4 and 22 February 1892 respectively.
181
PMG, 19 November 1891,2.
182
18 March 1903 and 30 November 1909.
 Table 7
Press reception comparison of new works, Birmingham Festival 1891

Eden (Birmingham 7 October 1891)

No. of reviews consulted 32
Wholly laudatory II
Laudatory with reservations 20
Critical
Comments on technique/cleverness 19
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 6

Stanford: Eden (Birmingham 7 October 1891)

35
I c No. of reviews consulted
30
• Wholly laudatory
25
o Laudatory with
20 reservations

15 o Critical

10 • Comments on
technique/cleverness
5 o Comments on emotional
coldness/detachment
0

Comparison: Requiem - Dvorak (Birmingham 9 October 1891)

No. of reviews consulted 15
Wholly laudatory 8
Laudatory with reservations 6
Critical 3
Comments on technique/cleverness 2
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 0

Comparison: Requiem - Dvorak

(Birmingham 9 October 1891)

16
c No. of reviews consulted
14
• Wholly laudatory
12
10 o Laudatory with
reservations
8
o Critical
6
• Comments on
4
technique/cleverness
2 o Comments on emotional
0 coldness/detachment
0
 153

Dream of Gerontius. Herbert Thompson hints at the problem in his review of the 1903

Eden performance:

Since [ 1891] much has happened. Other composers have brought heaven and hell upon their canvas with
183
all the realism at their disposal, and ... the Stanford ian tritones are likely to fall upon jaded ears.

Indeed, Paul Rodmell gives a succinct summation of the reasons for the ultimate failure

and disappearance of Eden:

Why did the work fail? It is ... far too long, and too much of the music, though academically ingenious,
lacks interest. Its nearest relative is The Dream of Gerontius and with it some comparisons may be
drawn. Elgar's work failed at its first performance, while Stanford's did not, but it is the vivid nature of
Elgar's music which redeemed Gerontius and his visions of heaven and purgatory outstrip Stanford's by
miles. While Stanford's hell was daring in 1891, Elgar's hell was terrifYing in 1900; similarly Stanford's
Heaven was appealing but Elgar's was radiant. 184

Thus, not only beset by its own inherent difficulties of excessive length and complexity,

Eden was outstripped and outclassed by Gerontius, and after a fmal flailing of its

celestial wings in 1909, disappeared permanently from the scene.

An Ode for Cambridge and some part-songs

After the exertions of Eden, it was to be some time before another Stanford choral work

of major proportions appeared. Meanwhile, however, he was not altogether idle, and

his professorial duties at Cambridge required the production of a short Ode to celebrate

the installation of a new University Chancellor. Performed at a CUMS concert on 14

June 1892 alongside Brahms's Academic Festival Overture and Parry's The Lotos-

Eaters, the Installation Ode was tailor-made for such a university occasion, making use

of several well-known folk tunes, including 'D'ye ken John Peel'. This latter tune was

in turn combined with 'Gaudeamus igitur' (plus vocal parts), forming a link with the

Brahms overture, which immediately preceded it in the concert. Both the Musical

Times and the Cambridge Review print appreciative accounts of the concert, the former

183
YP, 19 March 1903,6.
184
Rodmell, Stanford, 160.
 154

referring to the 'air of novelty' in Stanford's commissioned piece, the latter praising the
185
manner in which it selects 'the happy mean between grave and gay' .

Later the same year appears a Musical Times review of a set of four part-songs,

Op.4i 86 - the first Stanford examples of this genre to be published (in the Novello Part-

Song Book series). The last of the songs, The Knight's Tomb, became, with its

'somewhat startling, but undeniably effective climax', perhaps the most frequently sung

of this group, which MT judges 'among the most artistic examples of their kind'. At the

beginning of the following year, however, there appears in Musical Times a review of a

further set of part-songs which prove eventually to be of greater popularity: the first set

of Six Elizabethan Pastorals, Op.49. As the review states, the songs are dated August

1892, and appear to have been written as 'a sort of holiday task'. The reviewer goes on

to say: 'He could not have employed his leisure to greater advantage, for, since Pearsall,

more delightful examples of the madrigalian art have not appeared' . 187 Perhaps these

pieces were a further result of the composer's studies with Rockstro. Certainly at least

two of the songs- Corydon, arise! and Diaphenia- were destined to become extremely

popular with choral groups for many years to come.

The 'Chicago Ode ' and departure from Cambridge

The twenty-two years since Stanford's arrival in Cambridge had seen remarkable

musical developments. Under his guiding influence, the musical life of the university

had become vibrant and forward-looking, and Stanford's own stature, both as composer

and conductor, had grown steadily. By 1892 it can fairly be said that he had gained a

national, and even to some degree an international reputation, and was regarded as one

of the leading English composers of his generation. His official duties were now taking

185
MT, I July 1892, 422-3; CamRev, 16 June 1892,382-3.
186
MT, I December 1892, 744.
187
MT, I January 1893,44.
 155

him ever more frequently away from Cambridge, and a move to London became almost

inevitable. Stanford's resignation as organist of Trinity College (where he had for some

time been unhappy with his role) at the end of 1892, and the family's re-location to

London in the early part of 1893 marked a new phase in his career. There was one

further musical task in Cambridge, however, which was dear to his heart, and which he

was determined to see through: the celebration of the CUMS Golden Jubilee.

Stanford was determined to make the CUMS fiftieth anniversary year special, and

negotiated with the university authorities the conferral of music doctorates on five

senior composers - Saint-Saens, Bruch, Boito, Tchaikovsky and Grieg- as the focal

point of the celebrations. The Jubilee celebrations took place in June, with a concert on

the thirteenth of the month in which four of the five honoured composers conducted

pieces of their own, 188 the programme being completed with a new short choral ode by

Stanford- East to West.

Stanford's setting of words by Swinburne was actually written for the opening of a

large Exhibition in Chicago, and had, in fact, been first heard in London the previous

month. 189 There are several press accounts of the London and Cambridge

performances, as well as a couple of brief reviews of the score of this fairly compact

work (lasting less than a quarter of an hour).

Musical News, writing of the score in April, describes the music as 'decisive and

telling', 190 while the Monthly Musical Record states that, although hardly to be classed

as one of the composer's greatest efforts, it is 'worthy of the occasion for which it was

written' . 191 Various accounts of the London and Cambridge performances echo this

188
The exception being Grieg, in whose absence through illness, Stanford conducted some of his Peer
Gyntmusic.
189
Strangely, despite extensive enquiries by Frederick Hudson and others, no record of a Chicago
performance has so far come to light.
190
MN, 29 Aprill893, 399.
191
MMR, I October 1893, 225.
 156

general view of East to West as an effective, though not exceptional, occasional work,

and even Shaw awards it qualified praise:

The two qualities needed for a good Chicago ode are tunefulness and bounce; and there is an allowance of
both in East to West, though it is certainly stinted by the professorism which is Stanford's bane ... But the
native audacity of the composer asserts itself more freely than in any of his recent compositions ... 192

Saint-Saens was sufficiently impressed by the Cambridge ceremonies to write a lengthy

article for La Nouvelle Revue, towards the end of which, in describing the CUMS

concert, he says of East to West that it is 'not elaborated but brilliant, and written by a

master-hand, which is all we have any right to expect from an "oevre de

circonstance"' . 193 East to West does not appear to have been given any further

performances, failing to capture the interest of choral directors - perhaps understandable

in view of its occasional nature.

Stanford's resignation as conductor of CUMS took effect immediately after the

jubilee celebrations, from that point on his only remaining connection with Cambridge

being as Professor of Music - a post which for many more years to come did not require

residence in the city.

The main trend of critical press opinion of Stanford's choral output during his years

in Cambridge seems to have been favourable, some reviews being greatly enthusiastic,

but others tempered with reservations, generally referring to the precedence of flawless

technique over emotional involvement. In contrast, however, commentaries upon

performances of Stanford's chorhl works during this period almost always refer to great

enthusiasm and warm reception on the part of audiences and choirs.

The Revenge was undoubtedly Stanford's major breakthrough to enormous popular

success, though it raised expectations for successors which proved hard to meet. Even

some critics who had hitherto had reservations about Stanford's style, such as Joseph

192
'Concerts and Recitals', Wo, 17 May 1893, reprinted in Shaw's Music, vol. 2, 883-90.
193
Reprinted in CamRev, 9 November 1893, 80.
 157

Bennett, were won over by this short choral ballad, which was able to appeal to such a

wide spectrum of the music-loving public.

Shaw was Stanford's most outspoken critic, though he was, in the main, only

expressing in plain terms what many others were saying in a far more polite and

disguised way. He never ceased to make plain, however, the fact that he regarded

Stanford as a composer far superior in talent to any of his 'college' contemporaries.

Of Stanford's colleagues at the RCM, Parry was a friend with whom he shared

informal and honest exchanges of opinion concerning the compositions of both men.

Grove was one man with whom the excitable Stanford never seems to have argued, their

relationship remaining calm and imbued with mutual respect. Grove is known to have

said on one occasion, however, concerning Stanford's music:

As to his music I cannot honestly say that I ever cared for any of it, but on the other hand he is a very
valuable member of College. 194

Stanford's considerable and early success in the field of music for the Anglican

church was, as we have seen, due far more to regular performance than to the written

word, but his steadily growing all-round reputation as a choral composer depended to a

considerable degree upon printed critical appraisal of his larger-scale works.

Stanford's personal reaction to criticism of his works in the press must be largely

conjectural, for he rarely, if ever, left recorded comments concerning his feelings, save

when they involved the music or fortunes of his friends or pupils. He must surely have

been gratified, however, by the many encouraging and appreciative comments upon his

music, just as he must have felt some sense of pride and achievement on each of the

many occasions when performances of his music were received with thunderous

applause, or when greeted at the beginning of a rehearsal with cheers from a choir or

orchestra.

194
Letter from Grove to Edith Oldham, 21 February 1892, cited in Rodmell, Stanford, 169.
 158

This first period in Stanford's musical career saw his evolution from brilliant young

student to nationally known figure. The publication of the B flat Service in 1879

rapidly made his name known to church musicians, and a steady flow of choral

successes with larger-scale works from the mid-1880s steadily enhanced his reputation

in a wider sense. By the time he left Cambridge, aged forty, in January 1893, Stanford

had already achieved a commanding position in the world of English music, and was in

firm possession of highly respected appointments as Professor of Music in his own

university and as Professor of Composition at London's recently founded Royal College

of Music. He moved to London amidst a high degree of interest on the part of public

and critics alike. Stanford had thus far produced some fine examples of music for the

church, virtually invented (with The Revenge) a hugely popular kind of choral ballad,

made two original and interesting attempts at oratorio, and begun to compose well-

crafted partsongs for smaller vocal ensembles. Many were curious to learn what he

would achieve next.

 159

Chapter Four

Stanford's Choral Music and the Press II:

Years at the Top ofHis Profession, 1893-1910

The years between 1893 and 191 0 saw Stanford at the height of his powers and his

fame, both as composer and conductor. Of a total output which embraces 194 works

with opus numbers, as well as many more without, the period in question accounts for

more than a third of his compositions, from the Mass in G, Op.46 to the Songs of the

Fleet, Op.117: seventy-two opus numbers, of which twenty-five are choral.

The choral music of this period embraces several of his greatest successes,

including, on the sacred side, the three Latin works- the Requiem, the Te Deum and,

above all, the Stabat Mater, and amongst the secular works, Phaudrig Crohoore, Songs

of the Sea and Songs of the Fleet. All of these larger works, and several of the slighter

ones, were widely reviewed in the press, critical commentary being very largely

favourable, occasionally bordering on the ecstatic, often highly complimentary, in a few

cases critical of aim or achievement, but always expressing admiration for technical

craftsmanship and orchestration. In some of his very best works - especially Phaudrig

Crohoore, the Requiem and Stabat Mater, and the two sets of Sea Songs - Stanford

even managed to transcend the fairly frequent criticisms of emotional coolness and an

inability to 'let himself go' in his compositions. His long quest for a second 'popular

hit' to rival The Revenge was finally and incontestably achieved with the Songs of the

Sea, these two works between them ensuring their composer a secure place in the hearts

of thousands of English music-lovers for decades to come.

During the period under review Stanford held some of the most prestigious

conducting posts in the country- firstly the Bach Choir, subsequently both the Leeds

Philharmonic Society and the Leeds Festival. These conductorships gave him not only
 160

a platform for his own works, but also the opportunity to conduct a wide range of

works by other composers, both old and new. Occasional comments upon his

conducting style seem to indicate a certain correlation with the perceived lack of

emotional fire in many of his compositions: he was, we gather, a technically proficient

but not always a greatly inspiring figure on the rostrum.

Gradually, in the course of the opening decade of the new century, we can observe a

decline in the flow of new choral works - or, at any rate, of large-scale ones - from

Stanford's pen. The gaps between successful major works get longer, and there is,

perhaps, a growing sense of disappointment and disillusionment on the composer's part.

The Ode to Discord gives an indication of Stanford's unease with certain contemporary

trends in composition, and this fact combines with the gradual emergence of other,

mostly much younger, composers of choral music. Elgar's Gerontius succeeded where

Stanford's two oratorios had failed, and the years leading up to 1910 also saw the

production of choral works by a promising new generation of English composers. Two

of the most significant appeared at Stanford's last two Leeds Festivals: Toward the

Unknown Region (1907) and Sea Symphony (1910) by his erstwhile pupil Vaughan

Williams. New developments in musical England were attracting ever-increasing

attention, with the result that men of Stanford's generation began to fade from the

limelight.

Herbert Howells, in a lecture delivered to the Royal Musical Association shortly

after the centenary of Stanford's birth, speaks of this decline in prominence and fortune:

. . . I knew Stanford vitally and directly only for twelve short years - his last twelve. . . . I knew him,
indeed, in the days of his increasing neglect, a neglect he continually felt. It hurt him. 1

Stanford's removal to London early in 1893 was a perfectly logical and pragmatic

choice at a point in his career when his weekly duties at the Royal College of Music and

with the Bach Choir involved spending a great deal of time in the city. With London as

1
Howells, 'Charles Villiers Stanford'.
 161

his base, he was also better placed for increasingly frequent visits to provincial centres

to conduct choirs and orchestras, often in his own music. The move also had an impact

upon his work as a composer: no longer a serving church musician, he had no

immediate incentive to write for the Anglican liturgy, and, with a single exception, his

list of works during the 1890s contains no anthems or service settings. Despite this,

however, the next choral work of Stanford's to appear after his removal from

Cambridge was, in fact, a liturgical piece - and one, moreover, designed initially for the

Roman Catholic church.

A Latin Mass and more partsongs

The Mass in G had been written, in stages, during Stanford's last year in Cambridge,

and was intended for Thomas Wingham's fine choir at London's Brompton Oratory.

Scored for four soloists, choir and orchestra, the scale and style of the work is primarily

intended for liturgical, rather than concert use, and is clearly influenced by mass settings

of the later Viennese composers. 2 The first, liturgical, performance of the work at the

Oratory on the Feast ofSt Philip Neri (26 May) 1893 seems to have been well received,

but, as is inevitable with church services, not widely recorded. 3 The Musical Times and

Musical News do, however, give brief accounts of the occasion. MT refers to an

excellent performance which displayed the 'devotional spirit' of the music, the

'expressive settings' of the Kyrie and Gloria, 'clever contrapuntal writing' in the Credo,

and scoring which reveals the 'hand of a master' .4 MN also refers to the work's

2
Rodmell, Stanford, 174, refers to similarities between its Gloria, and that of Beethoven's Ma'>s inC,
and at least two contemporary reviews (MT, 1 February 1894, 96-7; DTe/, 24 January 1894, 5) mention
'Schubertian'. qualities.
3
Church services, with the occasional exception of major choirs festivals, were then, and still are,
understandably regarded as hardly appropriate occasions for mass press reportage and criticism of their
musical content, since music could hardly be viewed as the sole raison d'etre of divine service, and the
presence of those concerned solely to assess musical quality could be regarded with some distaste.
4
MT, I July 1893,411.
 162

'devotional spirit' and the 'clever contrapuntal writing', and is quite possibly another

version of the same account. 5

A concert performance of the Mass by the Bach Choir the following January was,

understandably, more widely reported, though all accounts of the work point to its

relatively modest scale, deriving from its primary liturgical purpose. The Cambridge

Review goes so far as to say that its 'apparent simplicity' will 'come as a surprise' to

those familiar with Stanford's music, singling out the Credo and the Sanctus as the

finest sections. 6 The same movements receive praise in the Daily Graphic, as does the

'charmingly melodious' Benedictus of a work which is 'remarkable throughout for

loftiness of aim, sincerity of feeling, and scholarly workmanship, which, however,

never lapses into mere academicism' .7 The Guardian carries a slightly longer account

than other papers, and is the most punctilious (perhaps in view of its status as a church

paper) in stressing that it is 'essentially as a service Mass and not as a concert Mass that

it should be judged'. This explains the 'subdued character' of the Sanctus and the lack

of the 'expected climax' in the Agnus Dei, for in both cases the composer has adhered

to the spirit and nature of Roman Catholic ritual. The author - Charles Graves -

concludes that Stanford's Mass is 'a very happy specimen of that union of scholarship

and earnest feeling which one looks for in works of this stamp'. 8 The general tone of

the few existing accounts of this Bach Choir performance seems to be one of approval

and appreciation. Bernard Shaw was not present at the concert, but learned of it, and

expressed genuine regret at having missed Stanford's Mass:

I am not fond of modem settings of the Mass as a rule; but this particular one, as an example of the
artistic catholicity of an Irish Protestant (and if you have never been in Ireland you do not know what
Protestantism is) especially interests me. Nothing is more tempting to a keen critic than an opportunity of

5
MN, 3 June 1893,510.
6
CamRev, 25 January 1894, 172-3.
7
DGr, 25 January 1894, 5.
8
Guard, 31 January 1894, 172.
 163

comparing that religious music into the spirit of which the composer has entered through his dramatic
faculty alone, with that which is the immediate expression of his own religious faith. 9

There are no further recorded concert performances of the Mass in G, though one

further appearance at the Oratory is noted in 1895, 10 and it can perhaps be safely

assumed that there were others. The liturgical purpose of the work is further emphasised

by its publication, by Novello, in an alternative version, with English text and organ

accompaniment, for the Anglican rite, under the title Communion Service in G.

1894 also saw the publication of a second set of Six Elizabethan Pastorals, Op.53.

Like their predecessors, these madrigalian-style pieces receive favourable notices in the

Musical Times and Musical News, 11 though it is the Saturday Review which carries the

most effusive recommendation for them (probably by William Barclay Squire) in the

following terms:

It would be difficult to imagine anything more perfect of its kind than the set of "Six Elizabethan
Pastorals" ... composed by Professor Stanford . . . . The writing is solid and classical enough for the best
seventeenth-century standard, without being in the least dull or heavy; ... One seldom comes across any
new part-songs so satisfactory alike to the choir that sings and the audience that hears them. 12

Despite this warm recommendation, however, none of the numbers in this group

appears to have rivalled the popularity of 'Diaphenia' or 'Corydon, arise' from the

previous set.

A Choral Ode for Wales

Commissioned by the committee of a revived Cardiff Festival m 1892, and written

before Stanford left Cambridge, The Bard was eventually given its first performance at

the 1895 Cardiff Festival. Not having the same prestige as the Birmingham or Leeds

9
'Snubbed by the Bach Choir', Wo, 31 January 1894, reprinted in Shaw's Music, vol.3, 101-4. Shaw
admits to having been deprived of an invitation to this concert, almost certainly in view of his previous
record, for he had, not long before, in writing of a Bach Choir concert containing unaccompanied
sixteenth century music, given the choir 'its first taste of really stimulating criticism'. His exclusion from
the ranks of t"'xi!ed press representatives may well, therefore, have reflected Stanford's own distaste or
discomfort with the fruits of Shaw's pen- a distaste which must surely have been reinforced shortly
afterwards by the heated press debate concerning the Bach St Matthew Passion (see chapter 2, 76-7).
10
MN, 12 October 1895,298.
11
MT, I September 1894, 620; MN, I December 1894,466.
12
SatRev, 9 June 1894, 622.
 164

Festivals, the events at Cardiff were less widely reported nationally, although several

accounts of it do exist. Stanford's choice of Thomas Gray's poem was probably partly

with a Welsh audience in mind, though the text also gave the composer ample scope for

his dramatic instincts - a fact which several critics were quick to note. Percival Betts,

for example, in notices for both the Daily News and the Graphic, comments upon the

suitability of Gray's poem for musical treatment, 13 giving ample scope for 'effective

contrasts'- an opportunity of which Stanford has 'fully availed himself . 14

By this stage, Stanford's reputation in the production of a succession of short choral

odes and ballads was well recognised, and any new contribution to the genre would

inevitably invite comparison. Most reviewers of The Bard make such comparisons,

with favourable conclusions. Bennett, in the Daily Telegraph, for example, referring to

earlier works, in particular The Revenge and the Elegiac Ode, declares:

Success ... was almost a foregone conclusion, seeing that the composer has passed from victory to victory
along the same line. 15

The same theme recurs in Edgar Jacques' column for the Musical Times:

Dr. Stanford's new Ode is an example of a form in which he is accustomed to successes. Preceded by the
"Revenge," the Ode on the death of President Lincoln, and others of the same class, the "Bard" had
almost an absolute guarantee before a note was heard ... 16

And again in the Daily Chronicle:

Professor Stanford has handled his theme in the most sympathetic manner, and at no stage betrays signs
of diminution of the descriptive strength that enabled him to make choral ballads popular with the
cultivated musical public. 17

As is so often the case with Stanford's choral works, several writers refer to his skill

m orchestration, and three or four papers also give high praise to Harry Plunket

Greene's delivery of the solo bass passages (written with his voice in mind), the

Guardian going so far as to claim that this singer may prove 'almost indispensable' to a

13
DN, 20 September 1895, 3.
14
Graph, 21 September 1895, 354.
15
DTel, 20 September 1895, 3.
16
MT, 1 October 1895, 672-3.
17
DChr, 20 September 1895,6.
 165

successful performance of the Ode. 18 The work, according to The Times, was received

with 'unequivocal favour', 19 and Stanford, who conducted, was, according to the Daily

News, given a hearty reception, and recalled to the platform twice.

Although critical opinion is unanimously in favour of The Bard, views vary as to its

ultimate level of popularity, especially when compared to the Revenge. Bennett (Daily

Telegraph) and Henry Frost (Athenaeum) reckon the new work not quite the equal of

the former:

This work, though it may not for obvious reasons enjoy the popularity of"The Revenge," is a rival which
that favourite piece will not see far behind in the course yet to be. 20

'The Bard' may not obtain as much popularity as 'The Revenge,' but it is well worth the attention of
choral societies in need ofbrief, picturesque, and not too exacting work. 21

Betts, however, in both his columns, is somewhat more optimistic, regarding the Ode as

'one of the most effective of Dr. Stanford's shorter works' and concluding:

"The Bard" promises to become speedily popular with choirs in all parts of the country. 22

Jacques takes a similar view in the MT, claiming that the 'broad, elevated, and wholly

worthy' nature of the Ode's music 'assures its future as a work of art'. Not so, alas, for

apart from a single further hearing in Cambridge in June 1896, no other performances

seem to be recorded, and the work quickly fell completely from public view. In Paul

Rodmell's words, The Bard 'failed to push past its antecedents'. Rodmell puts forward

the view that, although an appropriate subject for a Welsh festival, Gray's poem lacked

the transparency of Tennyson, and hindered the work from becoming as popular as

either The Revenge or the Voyage of Mae/dune. Stanford tried his best, but the work, as

well crafted as any other ofhis, simply 'failed to excite'. 23

18
Guard, 25 September 1895, 1484.
19
T, 20 September 1895, 8.
20
DTel, 20 September 1895, 3.
21
Ath, 28 September 1895, 425-6.
22
DN, 20 September 1895, 3.
23
Rodmell, Stanford, 183.
 166

An Irish Choral Ballad

Stanford had long been attracted by the writing of his compatriot Sheridan Le Fanu, and

it may well have been his work on the comic opera Shamus 0 'Brien, based on a story

by the poet, and completed early in 1895, which inspired him to use another of Le

Fanu's poems in the realisation of a choral commission for the 1896 Norwich Festival.

Phaudrig Crohoore was widely acknowledged to be an Irish version of the story told by

Scott as 'Young Lochinvar'. Le Fanu's version created a hero of gigantic proportions-

a 'broth of a boy' who 'stood six foot eight', and, as Fuller Maitland comments in The

Times, tells his story in a delightfully humorous and colloquial style. 24

In his setting of Phaudrig Crohoore, Stanford was able, for once, to give full reign

to his Irish nature, and features such as the lively jig music in the wedding scene were

afforded unanimous critical approval. Already, before its first hearing, the new ballad

was 'awaited with interest' by the many who admired the Revenge and 'who have

waited long for a successor' (implying the perceived failure of the Voyage, Battle of the

Baltic and The Bard to fill such a role). 25 The first performance of the ballad at

Norwich on 9 October 1896 appears to have been quite successful, and certainly

inspired a good deal of positive critical comment in the press.

Stanford's established record in the field of the choral ode and ballad is again

acknowledged in several articles, some critics going on to voice their high regard for the

qualities of the new work, and their optimism for its future. The Daily Chronicle

provides a good example:

All the energy that made "The Revenge" such a popular work with choralists is here again apparent, but
there is no attempt to elaborate ideas and thereby check the steady progress of the story. . .. As the
composition is easy and straightforward, both vocally and instrumentally, there can be no doubt it will
obtain widespread favour. 26

The Daily Graphic provides a similar judgement:

24
T, I 0 October 1896, 7.
25
MN, 3 October 1896, 282.
26
DChr, 10 October 1896, 10.
 167

Dr. Stanford has once more treated the form he created with complete mastery of design and effect and
once more the combination of Stanford and Le Fanu has had delightful results. The music is throughout
melodious, characteristic, and tells its tale with a directness that cannot be bettered. The new ballad is not
too difficult for choral societies of average resources, and it should therefore have a successful career.Z7

The Morning Post goes so far as to describe Crohoore as 'a capital little work that

possesses all the requisite elements of popularity' ,28 while the Graphic says that it is:

... so jovial and dramatically written that it seems to breathe the very spirit of the tenderly love-sick and
riotously pugnacious Phaudrig Crohoore, and bids fair to achieve immediate popularity. 29

According to the Daily News, Stanford's new ballad (performed, apparently, before an

audience of 1291) is, 'without much doubt' set to rival even The Revenge in

popularity. 30 And Musical News, encouraged by a first hearing, now believes that

Crohoore may even overtake The Revenge in popular esteem:

[Phaudrig Crohoore] seems likely to capture the laurels hitherto worn by the stirring ballad, "The
Revenge," which created such a sensation when first produced, and which has since continued steadily to
maintain and increase its popularity. 31

Apart from the jig wedding scene, it is the final pages of the work which attract

unanimous admiration. According to The Times, the epilogue gives the ballad 'peculiar

distinction', while Bennett, in the Daily Telegraph, claims:

Very effective indeed, because absolutely beautiful, is the coda, with its burden of lament for the dead
hero. 32

And DN finds in the 'elegiac epilogue' a 'true touch of genius ... beautiful in the

extreme'.

The Irish nature of the story and its musical treatment leads some critics to point to

direct similarities with Shamus 0 'Brien, which had recently proved a great and popular

success. The Times recognises from the very opening phrases of Crohoore its kinship

with the opera; the Morning Post identifies the same national characteristics in both

works; and the Guardian states:

27
DGr, I 0 October 1896, 7.
28
MP, 10 October 1896, 5.
29
Graph, I 0 October I896, 456.
30
DN, I 0 October I896, 5.
31
MN, I7 October I896, 323-4.
32
DTe/, I2 October I896, 8.
 168

One would not be surprised to find that [Crohoore] came out of the composer's charming opera Shamus
33
0 'Brien, so rollicking a spirit of Irish fun pervades the whole.

It seems that the only journal to cast any doubt upon the future of Crohoore is the

Musical Times. If it can be assumed that the article comes from the pen of Edgar

Jacques, then he alone sees possible problems with English audiences having the

capacity to appreciate fully the Irish humour of the work. He does, however claim a

need for 'national' works:

Provided they are good, we cannot have too many of such things. 34

As to the Norwich performance, opinions differ somewhat. MP refers to the work

being 'well rendered' under the composer's direction, achieving 'decided success'; the

Athenaeum states that it was received 'with truly great and deserved cordiality' ,35 and

DN reports a very warm reception, with Stanford being recalled three times to the

platform. Both MN and MT, however, refer only to a 'fairly good' performance, MT

adding that the reception was 'courteous, if somewhat undecided'.

Hero and Leander, a cantata by the successful Italian operatic composer Luigi

Mancinelli, was the only other new choral work to be presented at the 1896 Norwich

Festival, and Table 8 compares press reactions to this cantata and to Stanford's

Crohoore. Here we observe considerable similarities in critical opinion, for in both

cases three-quarters of commentators express unreserved approbation, while only a third

of articles voice reservations or criticism. There are, however, five critics who cannot

resist reference to Stanford's technical cleverness.

Crohoore was soon given further successful performances, though early on there

occurred an unfortunate hiccup to the work's progress. Soon after the Norwich premier,

members of the Halle chorus in Manchester refused to sing certain verbal phrases which

they construed as being offensive and, despite all attempts at persuasion on the part of

33
Guard, 14 October 1896, 1585.
34
MT, 1 November 1896, 734-6.
35
A th, 17 October 1896, 533.
 Table 8
Press reception comparison of new works, Norwich Festival1896

Phaudrig Crohoore (Norwich 9 October 1896)

No. of reviews consulted 12
Wholly laudatory 9
Laudatory with reservations 2
Critical I
Comments on technique/cleverness 5
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 0

Stanford: Phaudrig Crohoore (Nornich 9 October 1896)

14
12 Ic No. of rev iew s consulted
12
• Wholly laudatory
10
D Laudatory w ith
8
reservations

6 D Critical

4 • Comments on
technique/clev erness
2 c Comments on emotional
0 coldness/detachment
0

Comparison: Hero & Leander - Mancinelli (Norwich 8 October 1896)

No. of reviews 10
Who lly laudatory 7
Laudatory with reservations 3
Critical 0
Comments on technique/cleverness 2
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 0

Comparison: H u o & Leander -l\lancinelli

(Nonvich 8 October 1896)
 170

their conductor, Cowen, firmly declined to back down, causing the work to be replaced

by The Revenge. Herbert Thompson ofthe Yorkshire Post, attempted to lambast this

example of Victorian prudishness in a satirical article which, however, succeeded only

in making matters worse, since other northern choral societies took his words literally,

causing other performances to be cancelled. Stanford, amazed at the tum of events,

wrote to Thompson in the hope that something could be done. He suggested that

Thompson's satire was a little too subtle for 'the Lancashire mind', and explained that

the phrases thought to be offensive were in fact totally innocent, and merely

commonplace Irish colloquial expressions. 'Divil', he said, had no meaning, and 'but he

could get round her', far from being indecent, meant simply 'but he could put her in a

good temper'. He furthermore explained that now Boosey's felt that the text might have

to be changed, and asked if Thompson could write a paragraph explaining that his

previous article was not intended to be taken seriously. He concluded his letter with a

phrase of his own construction intended to show the ludicrous nature of the

misconstrued phrases in Crohoore:

'Good morning have you used Pear's Soap' I suppose cd be indecent to some because it suggests a bath
and no clothes on! 36

Fortunately the objections soon died down, and Boosey published the score with Le

Fanu's text unaltered. 37

Phaudrig Crohoore was one of a series of Irish-infuenced works in which Stanford

gave free reign to a native streak in his character. 38 The six Irish Rhapsodies were to

follow after the turn of the century. It is a matter of some regret that Bernard Shaw

never published any thoughts on Crohoore, for if he ever heard it, he would surely have

approved.

36
Letter from Stanford to Thompson, 30 December 1896, cited in Dibble, Stanford, 265.
37
For further information on this episode see Dibble, Stanford, 264-5, and Rodmell, Stanford, 188-9.
38
The 'Irish' Symphony (1887), Shamus O'Brien (1895) and Phaudrig Crohoore (1896).
 171

In this particular instance, the critics proved correct in their predictions of success

for Stanford's work. Although it never achieved the same degree of popularity as The

Revenge - no other secular choral work by Stanford ever would - Crohoore did prove a

fairly popular choice with choral societies all over the country, outstripping both Battle

of the Baltic and Voyage of Mae/dune, and by the mid-1920s it had received well in

excess of sixty performances. 39 Apart from The Revenge, the only other works of

Stanford's eventually to receive more regular attention from choral societies were the

Songs of the Sea (1904) and Songs of the Fleet (1910).

The Requiem

The appearance of Stanford's Latin Mass in G in 1893 caused a certain amount of

surprise in some circles, for it seemed somewhat unexpected that a staunch Irish

Protestant should produce such a work expressly for the Roman Catholic liturgy. It

must, however, be remembered, firstly, that Stanford's immediate family were High

Church, and not attracted by low church 'anti-popery', and secondly, that during his

twenty years as Organist of Trinity College, Cambridge he lived quite contentedly in an

atmosphere of High Anglicanism and academicism, where Anglo-Catholic ritual and the

Latin tongue were the norm. Stanford, it seems, showed considerable tolerance towards

parts of the Christian Church other than his own, as well as towards other religions. 40

After the Mass for the London Oratory, Stanford's decision to write a full-scale

Requiem should not have surprised anyone, although it did so in at least one case.41 The

death, in January 1896, of Lord Frederick Leighton, artist, lover of music and friend of

Stanford, greatly saddened the composer, who wrote the short unaccompanied anthem I

39
This contradicts Rodmell's claim that Phaudrig Crohoore 'never caught on', Stariford, 189.
40
See Rodmell, Stanford, 173-4, fh.l2.
41
A Daily Telegraph article (5 October 1897, 7) previewing the score before the first performance stated
that 'Dr. Stanford was hardly expected to devise a new setting ofthe Roman Office for the Dead'.
 172

heard a voice from heaven to be sung at his funeral in St Paul's Cathedral. 42 When,

shortly after this, Stanford received a commission from Birmingham for a new choral

work to be performed at the 1897 Festival, he decided upon a Latin Requiem in memory

of his recently deceased friend.

Possible reasons for Stanford's choice of the Latin Office for the Dead as his next

Festival work, persuasively suggested by Paul Rodmell, may be summarised as follows:

1. Neither of his own two oratorios, nor those of any other English composer in his

lifetime had passed into the established repertoire.

2. Festival committees and the general public had shown an increasing willingness

in recent years to accept compositions based on Latin Catholic texts (e.g. Gounod's

Mors et Vita; Dvonik's Requiem).

3. These Latin texts were freely available and required no librettist.

4. Stanford may have seen this as an opportune moment to abandon the 'Festival

oratorio' style into which he had previously put such enormous effort to so little gain. 43

The bulk of the Requiem score was written in Malvern during the summer of 1896,

and while there Stanford sought out Elgar's company on a fairly frequent basis, the two

men hearing and commenting on each other's current musical projects (Elgar's was

King Olaf). It is known that, at Stanford's request, a session was arranged on 15

September at Elgar's house, when Stanford played the score of the Requiem through to

Elgar and Charles Swinnerton Heap, the new chorus-master at Birmingham.44 Elgar's

opinion of the work is unfortunately not recorded, though at the time the two composers

were giving each other fairly constant encouragement.

42
This anthem was an extended version of an earlier piece, Blessed are the dead, written for Henry
Bradshaw's funeral in King's College Chapel, Cambridge in 1886. I heard a voice was sling at several
subsequent funeral and memorial services for well-known figures, including Sir John Millais (August
1896), Sir George Grey (September 1898), King Edward VII (May 191 0) and Parry (October 1918), on
each occasion making a deep impression. It was published in this later form by Novello in 1910.
43
Rodmell, Stanford, 192-3.
44
Ibid., 189-90, and Dibble, Stanford, 286-7.
 173

As the frrst performance of the Requiem approached, interest mingled with curiosity

mounted. Musical News, in a short paragraph anticipating the forthcoming Birmingham

Festival, states that 'Professor Stanford's new Requiem will show this versatile

composer in a new light' ,45 while the Pall Mall Gazette, after giving a brief analysis of

the work from the score, pronounces that it 'promises to be very interesting' .46 Bennett,

in his interesting Daily Telegraph preview article referred to above, goes to some

lengths to indicate his perception of the problems facing any modem composer setting

the Requiem text, for he claims that those who now write such a work cannot avoid

being influenced by the Requiems of Mozart, or Verdi, or the church music of Gounod.

And while he claims it to be influence rather than imitation, he senses that Stanford's

setting leans towards Gounod. Strange that he did not detect the Italianate influence felt

by most other critics!

Other writers based their advance opmwns upon attendance at rehearsals, and

following a session in London for soloists and orchestra the Daily Chronicle declares

that the work 'realises the highest expectations of Professor Stanford's treatment of

such a subject' ,47 while the Athenaeum states boldly:

We do not hesitate to say that Professor Stanford's 'Requiem' is his masterpiece, worthy to compare with
the best settings of the Latin Mass for the dead'. 48

Following the first performance itself, press coverage was as extensive as for any

previous major work by Stanford, and several critics expressed at some length their

reactions to the Requiem, mostly in very positive and favourable terms.

Stephen Stratton's substantial article in the Birmingham Daily Post spends much of

its length in a movement by movement account of the work, praising many features,

including the 'Quam olim Abrahae' fugue, the 'Tuba mirurn', and the 'Rex tremendae'

45
MN, 25 September 1897, title page.
46
PMG, 30 September 1897,4.
47
DChr, 29 September 1897, 3.
48
Ath, 2 October 1897,461.
 174

-all of which are 'very powerful'- whilst the Agnus Dei, framed by a funeral march, is

a 'great conception'. Stratton's summary is highly complimentary:

Professor Stanford's "Requiem" is a masterpiece: of that we have no doubt. He has aimed high, and has
mainly attained that aim. The work is worthy to be compared with the great settings of the same text by
Italian and German masters. There is greatness in more than one movement; triviality nowhere. 49

The Birmingham Daily Mail draws a comparison between Stanford's work and the

two Requiem settings by Cherubini, suggesting that these Italian works may have

influenced the new setting. Stanford's Requiem, however, 'cannot fail to take rank

among his ripest achievements' .50 There follows a description of the work's plan with

brief analysis of the different sections, and references to 'broad flow of melody' in one

place, 'masterly skill' in another, 'powerful and massive choral writing' and other

similar laudatory comments. According to this writer, the work was given a

'magnificent rendering'.

The third of the local papers, the Birmingham Daily Gazette, had apparently given

an account of the musical content of the Requiem in an earlier article, and devotes its

post-performance column to the qualities of the performance itself. Its main interest lies

in comments upon Stanford's qualities as a conductor:

The composer may not have the magnetic personality of Richter, or hold his forces at the same tense
strain of obedience. But he has qualities which command sympathy, and make him a favourite with those
who are entrusted with the performance of his work. Although Professor Stanford conducted the
influence of Dr. Richter was present, for the doctor sat in the side gallery, and listened to the performance
with the deepest interest. 51

It is interesting to see, in connection with these comments, a sketch from the Daily

Graphic of the same date, depicting Stanford conducting the final rehearsal for the

Requiem, together with an adjoining sketch showing a system of balloting for concert

tickets (both shown as Illustration 6).

One other report of note in a leading provincial paper is found in the Manchester

Guardian. The writer - presumably Arthur Johnstone - sets out by stating that the new

49
BDP, 7 October 1897,5.
50
BDM, 7 October 1897,2-3.
51
BDG, 7 October 1897, 5.
 Dr. Bta.uford rehea.raing bill " Requiem."

Biillo~g ·ro~ ttckets.-at ·the Masonic. liau.

. ' . . . . . .
'l'Bll BIBMINGRAM .MUBIQAil FEB~AL: . BKETOBl!8 A'J; '1'RB FINAL
:B.~~ .

Illustration 6: Sketches from Daily Graphic, 7 October 1897, 5

 176

Requiem is set out on an imposing scale, before continuing with a brief description of

the work's movements. He comments on the 'bold, powerful and picturesque'

instrumentation, but says that resources are always used with good judgement:

Dignity and reverence are nowhere sacrificed to sensational effect, as, for example, in the "Requiem" of
Berlioz. 52

The influence of Palestrina is still in evidence, and contrapuntal devices commonly

supposed to be outworn are used with 'admirably artistic effect'. There is, again, a

reference to Cherubini, especially in relation to the 'Quam olim Abrahae' fugue- which

has, however, 'not the least suggestion of dryness'. Johnstone identifies the 'Dies Irae'

as the finest section, but claims that 'almost every number is marked by a genuine

power and beauty', the 'Confutatis' and 'Lacrimosa' being 'almost overwhelming'. In

conclusion, he states:

For once, Dr. Stanford has given us a work that the friends of British music may regard with unreserved
pride and satisfaction, giving free rein to their admiration without the uneasy feeling that patriotic
considerations have to modifY artistic principles.

Turning to the major national daily papers, John Fuller Maitland provides an

extensive article in The Times. 53 In it he states what he assumes will be a generally held

opinion that in the Requiem Stanford 'has touched the highest point of his artistic

achievement'. He furthermore claims that in this work the composer 'has never

displayed greater ease and certainty' in his command of musical resources. The work is

described as in some ways a counterpart to the Mass in G - mainly in its Italianate

influence -but the Requiem surpasses it in the 'consummate skill' of the vocal writing

and in its overall inspiration. Speaking of the work's function as a memorial to Lord

Leighton, Maitland deems it highly appropriate that the Italian influences in the

Requiem should reflect its dedicatee's own sympathy with Italian ideals in art. An

analytical summary of the work expresses admiration for numerous passages. In the

Dies Irae, however, which is 'remarkably free from those realistic effects in which

52
ManGuard, 7 October 1897,7.
53
T, 7 October 1897,4.
 177

nearly all composers have exhausted themselves', certain conventions 'which were

scarcely to be avoided' - such as rolling basses and trumpet calls - 'are not its most

impressive portions'. Of the performance, Stanford's associate said that 'The

interpretation of this beautiful and truly religious work under the composer's direction

reached a very high degree of excellence'.

In his equally substantial Daily Telegraph article, Joseph Bennett firstly confirms

his earlier opinion of the underlying French influence of the work, but modifies it by

saying that now, having heard a 'very careful and, indeed, brilliant performance', he

hears in the general tone of the Requiem 'the Church music of the Latin race' containing

'a blend of French sentiment with Italian frre' .54 He neither found nor expected

anything distinctively English in the work, 'knowing from the first that so versatile a

composer as Dr. Stanford would produce a "Requiem" charged with the sensuous

attraction, the ornate expression, the pictorial glow of Roman worship'. In this

approach, says Bennett, the composer is absolutely right, for 'the modem mind connects

the impressive service with music with strong appeals to the senses, and especially with

music which some often call theatrical, when, in the proper sense of the term, it is but

sensational'. There follows an interesting summary of Stanford's abilities as a

composer:

He has not always been successful in great efforts, but failure could never be traced to deficiency of
musical equipment. Probably no composer of the present day brings to the practice of his art greater
technical resource. He can, as the saying goes, turn his hand to anything. . . . Because of this his
"Requiem" was confidently expected to show all the merits that ... flow from learning, experience and
skill.

Bennett continues by asking the most important question: would the work also show

inspiration? In his opinion it does. Like all such works, it contains less inspired

moments, but must be regarded as 'a new glory added to English music'.

54
DTel, 7 October 1897, 10.
 178

In the Daily Chronicle, the first paragraph of a lengthy review sums up the critic's

view that the Requiem is marked by clarity of style and directness of purpose - qualities

not always found hitherto in Stanford's longer sacred works (by implication, his two

oratorios). Furthermore:

Breadth, freedom, and dignity are the main attributes of a work that is certainly entitled to rank amongst
5
the most impressive productions for the Church submitted by creative musicians of our time. 5

The Requiem is 'devotional in spirit' from beginning to end, and 'altogether devoid of

the clap-trap effects for which more than one composer has endeavoured to find excuse

in setting the Office for the Dead'. In each section of the work there is much to impress,

though the 'rich' instrumentation of a 'master of the modern orchestra' is never allowed

to 'dim the religious feeling' of the vocal writing. The article concludes with a claim

that the work reveals 'powers with which hitherto [Stanford] has not been unanimously

credited'.

Percival Betts, in the Daily News, has heard it said that Stanford's Requiem is the

most important setting of the Roman Catholic office ever written by a prominent British

musician. 56 He refers to a perceived reluctance amongst English audiences to accept

works with Latin texts- whether from lack of education or from residual 'No Popery'

nonsense is uncertain - and there were certainly too many empty seats at the first

hearing of Stanford's new work. It is clear that the composer has taken infinite trouble

with his Requiem, but the result shows little sign of 'laboured element' and the music is

'instinct with serious conviction', the general style allowing 'the music to be suggested

by the text', rather than using the words 'as a mere excuse for technical display'. The

following movement-by-movement analysis is appreciative, though not as overtly so as

other reviews, putting the main emphasis on the 'reverence' and suitability of the music

for its subject.

55
DChr, 7 October 1897, 6.
56
DN, 7 October 1897,2.
 179

The Morning Post critic (either Arthur Hervey or Francis Barrett) also makes

reference to the MassinG, suggesting that those who have heard that earlier work will

be convinced of Stanford's ability to encompass the musical challenge of a Requiem

with success. This is clearly a work written with much opportunity for thought and

reflection, and the composer has approached the task 'in an earnest spirit, and with a

warmth of feeling that imparts in several numbers a genuine expression of the

sentiments of humanity'. A brief survey of the various movements of the work leads to

the following conclusion:

The interest of the music somewhat falls off in the final numbers, but in its entirety Professor Stanford's
Requiem may with confidence take its stand beside the best settings of modem masters. 57

One daily paper to take a completely contrary view of the Requiem is the Pall Mall

Gazette, in which Vernon Blackburn begins a substantial article by stating his

admiration for Stanford as being 'quite at the head' of recent English composers of

serious music. He is, says the critic, not only business-like and with an 'intimate

knowledge of his art', but has also a considerable 'sense of beauty', and is

'distinguished by personal gifts and by an original inspiration'. Why, however, did he

choose to set the Requiem? In part as a memorial to Leighton, to be sure, but 'consider

the rivalry against which Dr. Stanford pits himself. Mozart's is the greatest Requiem,

asserts Blackburn, with Verdi's second - perhaps by a long way. The great difficulty of

finding true musical expression for this text has been achieved only by these two

composers, but most successfully by the medieval plainsong. Blackburn further

maintains:

. . . even according to the inspiration you expect from a serious apprehension of the literature of the
"Requiem", ... Dr. Stanford has not written what might be mildly called an appropriate work. 58

57
MP, 7 October 1897, 5.
58
PMG, 7 October 1897, 4.
 180

He then prints some doggerel secular verse which he claims to have written during the

performance, supposedly to illustrate the fact that Stanford's music could just as

appropriately fit a flippant text:

Here are some words from the "Offertorium": "Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, Iibera animas omnium
fidelium defunctorum de poenis inferni et de profundo lacu." Given their truth, such words have a terrific
enough meaning; yet I found myself scribbling on my score to the very cheerful melody by the Professor
gay little doggerel sentences which seemed just as fitting as the grave words that were being sung, as
thus:
Come while the light is shining,
Come while the flowers are gay,
Trip it while youth is mirthful,
Trip it while life is May.

I protest that this is no caricature; the choral melody was extremely pretty and the final chorus at the end
was even exciting, with a glad sentiment of dissipation about it; but when you remembered that prayer,
"free them from the torments of the pit and from the lake of endless depth," you found that Professor
Stanford had contrived to make you rather miss the spirit of the thing. 59

Blackburn's final claim to an appreciation for the work as music, though not as a setting

of the Requiem Mass, can have done nothing to bring him back into favour with

Stanford and his circle, who had been grossly offended three years earlier by the critic's

slating of a Bach Choir St Matthew Passion performance (see chapter two, 76-7).

Blackburn's was not the sole dissenting voice, however, for the new critic (since

1894) of the Saturday Review, took an even more obtuse line. John Runciman- Shaw's

protege- writes in scathing terms of the Requiem. Far more interested in Purcell's King

Arthur, performed at the evening concert on the same day as Stanford's work,

Runciman brazenly declares:

It goes without saying that I did not trouble to reach Birmingham in time for Dr. Stanford's Requiem.
After playing through the score the truth was borne in upon me that it consisted largely of quotations from
Wagner and Gounod. I noted only one original idea. I had always assumed Dr. Stanford ... to be a
Roman Catholic; but he quotes a familiar chorus in his prayer for eternal peace,; and one is bound to
believe that a man whose notion of eternal peace is to see the flower-maidens out of "Parsifal" dancing
round him ... is a Mohammedan.... But leaving such frivolities - and Dr. Stanford's Requiem is
frivolous- it was, on the whole, worth going even so far as Birmingham to hear Purcell's "King Arthur"
music. Of course, only a selection was given, and many of the numbers ... badly mutilated. Still, a fair
part of it was Purcell, and better one hour of Purcell than a thousand hours of Stanford and his comic
Requiem. 60

59
Ibid.
60
SatRev, 9 October 1897, 386.
 181

Clearly this critic's wounding pen, which had recently cost him dear in court and was

shortly to bankrupt him, was as yet little tamed. 61

Other weekly journals were greatly impressed by the Requiem, most especially the

Guardian, wherein a substantial review by Graves describes Stanford's 'noble act of

62
homage' to Leighton as adding to the fame of 'one of the foremost living musicians' .

In it the composer has 'given unfettered expression to his own individuality' while also

lending the work 'a suavity and serenity peculiarly appropriate to its personal

associations'. The Requiem, continues Graves, is 'remarkable throughout for its

lucidity and melodic charm'. Stanford's inspiration never flags, and the work 'gains in

strength and beauty as it advances'. The composer's Birmingham works - that is to say

the two oratorios and the Requiem- 'mark ascending stages in the level of his genius',

the last of them being 'a really noble work'. In conclusion, Graves claims that the

work's merits make its exclusion from the forthcoming season's programme of the

Royal Choral Society completely inexplicable. 63

The Athenaeum spreads its more concise comments upon the Requiem over two

issues, but firmly declares the work a 'masterpiece' which will 'assuredly live', praising

vocal writing which 'flows on with a marvellous degree of musicianship' and

orchestration 'worthy ofWagner'. 64

Amongst the musical journals, the Monthly Musical Record, also declares the

Requiem 'the Cambridge Professor's masterpiece', stating that 'his genius has here

taken a higher flight, from which it rarely droops' - drooping only, according to the

critic, in the Agnus Dei. 65

61
See chapter 2, 79-80.
62
Guard, 13 October 1897, 1611.
63
Had ,Bam by still been living, the situation might well have been different, for he had championed Eden
with the RCS immediately after its Birmingham premier. Barnby, however, had died in the same month
as Lord Leighton, their funerals falling in the same week, and the relationship between Frederick Bridge,
his successor as conductor of the RCS, and Stanford was an uneasy one.
64
Ath, 9 October 1897,495-6, and 16 October 1897,531-2.
65
MMR, I November 1897,245-7.
 182

The Musical Times, in an article probably written by its new editor, Frederick

Edwards, speaks at length about writing music for the Roman Catholic liturgy, stating

that Stanford 'did not shrink from the task of preparing a Requiem which should reflect

the spirit and feeling of Roman Catholic ceremonial': he was justified in his boldness,

for he is the most versatile of musicians, and from the evidence of the Requiem he might

have been writing church music 'for the sensitive and passionate Latin peoples' all his

life'. He has reproduced in his work their 'half-swooning languors and impetuous

outbursts', though his music is full of sincerity. In short, Stanford has succeeded in his

venture, producing 'one of the cleverest works of modem times ... which may even be

called great', and is to be congratulated 'upon the addition of a really fine work to our

English repertory' .66 The Musical Opinion contented itself, as so often, with reprinting

material from the Athenaeum, and Musical News also eschewed comment of its own,

reprinting excerpts from no fewer than eight other journals.

The 1897 Birmingham Festival produced no other new choral work of similar scale

to Stanford's Requiem, but comparison may be made with journalistic reaction to a less

ambitious piece- Ode to the Sea- by his one-time (Cambridge) pupil Arthur Somervell

(see Table 9). It is at once evident that, while the Requiem received the fullest

approbation from four-fifths of the critics, with the remainder offering qualified praise

and only three finding significant criticisms, Somervell's piece came in for a severe

critical mauling, with only one paper awarding it unreserved praise. Here the frequent

practice of lauding - perhaps even excessively - the newest productions of young and

developing English composers (Somervell was just thirty-four at the time) was not

followed, and critics voiced frankly their disappointment with a weak piece.

The first London performance of the Requiem was in fact given by students of the

Royal Academy ofMusic at Queen's Hall in December 1897. Though not very widely

66
MT, I November 1897,745-7.
 Table9
Press reception comparison of new works, Birmingham Festival 1897

Requiem (Birmingham 6 October 1897)

No. of reviews 31
Wholly laudatory 24
Laudatory with reservations 6
Critical 3
Comments on technique/cleverness 6
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 0

Stanford: R~qukm (Birmingham 6 October 1897)

35
31 Ic No. of review s
30
• W holly laudatory
25
o Laudatory w ith
20 reservations

15 o Critical

10 • Comments on
technique/cleverness
5 o Comments on emotional
0 coldness/detachment
0

Comparison: Ode to the Sea- Somervell (Birmingham 7 October 1897)

No. of reviews 15
Wholly laudatory
Laudatory with reservations 12
Critical 8
Comments on technique/cleverness I
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 0

Comparison: Od~ to tJu Se.a - Somen •ell

(Birmingham 7 October 1897)

16
Ic No. of rev iew s
14
• Wholly laudatory
12
10 o Laudatory w ith
reservations
8
o Critical
6

4 • Comments on
technique/clev erness
2 o Comments on emotional
0
coldness/detachment
0
 184

reported, the Musical Times speaks of a very competent performance conducted by

67
Mackenzie, the 'fme music' being 'fully appreciated by a large audience' . Parry, who

had been somewhat bemused and disappointed by the work at Birmingham, writing in

his diary: 'Felt puzzled myself what he is driving at. Such an absence of detail in the
68
inner working. Almost Italian in method. Some of it rather cheap [and] very dull',

was reassured by the RAM performance, despite his personal aversion to

southern European musical influences, saying: 'The work tells despite its Italian style;

effective and well planned. Orchestration quite admirable in effect'. 69

More widely noted was the next performance, by the Bach Choir with Stanford at

the helm, in March 1898. Several of the major London daily papers speak warmly of

this performance, which confirms initial impressions formed at Birmingham. 70 Vernon

Blackburn reiterates his former doubts about the work, though this time making an

exception ofthe 'Agnus Dei', which is 'a charming and delightful piece ofwork'. 71 His

article is of particular interest, however, for a comparison he draws between the

orchestration of Stanford and Parry (whose Symphonic Variations featured in the same

concert): Stanford's is 'light, imaginative, equipoised, and well-proportioned'; Parry's

is 'thick, muddy, and uninteresting'. Stanford handles the orchestra 'by musicianly

instincts', but Parry 'out of the fullness of his academical knowledge'. Blackburn's

own answer to the perceived overall failure of the Requiem, however, is that the

composer's emotional involvement is 'remote' rather than personal.

In the Guardian, Graves reiterates his former praise for the Requiem, stating the

following view of those who accuse the composer of lack of emotional involvement:

67
MT, I January I898, 29. This concert was also reported in MMR, I January I898, I8, and Ath, I8
December I897, 862-3. Stanford showed his gratitude for this performance by presenting to the RAM his
manuscript score of the Requiem (see MMR, I February I898, 40).
68
Parry's Diary, 6 October I897, cited in Rodmell, Stanford, 192.
69
Parry's Diary, I6 December 1897, cited in Rodmell, Stanford, I92 and Dibble, Stanford, 296.
70
T, 10 March I898, 14; DTel, 9 March I898, 10; DChr, 9 March I898, 8; DN, IO March I898, 6.
71
PMG, 9 March I898, 4.
 185

The view occasionally expressed in connection with Professor Stanford's music that the intellectual
element predominates over the emotional, that the quality of charm is lacking - that, in short, it proceeds
from the head rather than the heart - can only be entertained in this instance by critics who have made up
their minds beforehand. 72

One further review of this performance is of particular interest, for the Musical

Times draws favourable comparisons between the Requiem and the Elegiac Ode,

considering these two works to be Stanford's finest, and also predicting that the new

work will 'do more to spread his name abroad than anything he has yet accomplished'. 73

Initial enthusiasm for Stanford's latest work produced two further performances of

the Requiem during 1898, the first of them in Cambridge, where Arthur Mann, organist

of King's, invited the composer to conduct the work in the College Chapel on 9 June.

The Cambridge Review, after referring to the perfect surroundings, acoustical and

architectural, of the chapel, gives high praise to the performance (by Dr. Mann's

Festival Choir with fully professional soloists and orchestra chosen by Stanford), and

describes the Requiem as 'the greatest work that England has yet produced'. 74 Other

Cambridge papers are equally laudatory, the Cambridge Chronicle describing Stanford

as 'a master of the first rank' and claiming: 'If he had written nothing but the Requiem

... he would have done enough for immortality'. 75

Mann and Stanford had not seen eye to eye during the latter's years in Cambridge,

but the King's College Organist, to his great credit, did not let personal animosity

prevent a hearing in the university city of an important new work by its Professor of

Music. Mann's own opinion of the Requiem comes down to us through a letter he wrote

to a friend:

I can't stand the sight of the man [i.e. Stanford], but all the same it's a GLORIOUS WORK. 76

72
Guard, 16 March 1898,416.
73
MT, I April 1898, 244-5.
74
CamRev, 16 June 1898,414.
75
CamChr, 10 June 1898, 8.
76
Quoted in Greene, Stanford, 81.
 186

By the time of a performance of the Requiem in Leeds (November 1898), the same

composer's great Latin Te Deum had recently been produced in that city, inevitably

inviting comparisons between the two works (to be further investigated later in this

chapter). The principal Yorkshire papers did, however, have one or two interesting

comments to make on the earlier work. The Leeds Mercury compares the relative

merits of the two works and decides that the Requiem, evidently influenced by the styles

of Wagner and Gounod, is, on balance, a greater work than the 'Verdian' Te Deum. In

the Requiem, it says, there is much emotional feeling: 'Professor Stanford is beginning

to let himself"go," and we are glad ofit'. 77 Thompson, in the Yorkshire Post, notes the

presence of a large audience, despite an 'austere' programme, and sees this as an

encouraging indication of improving public taste. He also deems the new work superior

to the Te Deum, and declares: 'Dr. Stanford has certainly written nothing so moving as

may be found in many a page of this Requiem'. 78

For a work of such promise, which received a flurry of energetic and much-

appreciated performances in the first year or so of its life, the subsequent performance

history of Stanford's Requiem appears disappointing. Following one further

performance, in April 1899, by the Finsbury Choral Association, there are no clear

indications of further performances in England until the 1920s. Since, however, one

recorded performance in 1923 took place in an obscure Baptist church in Plymouth, it is

conceivable that there were others in small provincial towns that went unrecorded in the

national press and the musical journals. Certain it is, however, that two or three

performances took place in the 1920s after the composer's death. It has been revived at

irregular intervals since that time, and a professional recording made of it in 1994.

There was, however, one further appearance of the work during Stanford's lifetime

which served to further enhance his reputation, not only in England but on the
77
LM, 30 November 1898, 6.
78
YP, 1 December 1898, 5.
 187

continent. In February 1905 a performance of the Requiem was given in the north

German town of Diisseldorf, conducted by Julius Buths, who had previously (190 1 and

1902) introduced Elgar's Dream of Gerontius to German audiences. Translations of

extracts from a very favourable review of the work in the Diisseldorfer Neueste

Nachrichten appeared in the English press:

With his Requiem Herr Stanford takes an honourable position among contemporary composers. He
evidences in this work not only a remarkable skill in musicianship, but makes it very apparent he
endeavours ... successfully to clothe the ideas of the text in an appropriate musical garb. To the advanced
guard of musicians Herr Stanford does not belong; but by his reticent yet sincerely expressive music he
should win many admirers. 79

The Latin Te Deum

Much as Stanford had recently felt the urge to develop his Irish nature, first in Shamus

0 'Brien, then in Phaudrig Crohoore, it seems that now, having explored new territory

in the Requiem, he felt inspired to continue in the same vein by setting another Latin

liturgical text. Work on a large-scale Te Deum in B flat, Op.66 began as soon as the

Requiem was complete, in this case with a dedication to Queen Victoria on the occasion

of her Diamond Jubilee. The work, completed, according to the score, in January 1897,

is cast in six movements for four soloists, chorus and orchestra, and is most certainly

not to be confused with his already famous and popular English setting in the same key

(Op.10).

The first performance of the Te Deum was scheduled for the Leeds Festival of 1898,

where it would share the limelight with another significant new work - Elgar's

Caractacus. As usual there is a fair amount of press interest leading up to the Festival

itself, previews of new works being given both from study of scores and from

rehearsals.

79
YP, 10 March 1905,4.
 188

A substantial article in the Leeds Mercury, assessing the Te Deum from score, states:

'That it is of the utmost significance is apparent even on the surface', later adding:

Its performance . . . is awaited with extreme interest, for Professor Stanford is not merely a master of
technical means, but a man of lofty, artistic ideals, and endowed with the power to give life to what many
may deem to be the dry bones of a Latin text. 80

In the Yorkshire Post, Thompson declines to pass judgement on the Te Deum merely on

the evidence of the final rehearsal, but mentions the fine singing of the Leeds chorus,

indicating that the performance should 'go with a swing', and their hearty welcome for
81
Stanford, which at any rate indicates that the work is 'grateful to the vocalists' .

Bennett's initial reaction, from the evidence of score and rehearsal, is that 'intellectual

qualities' predominate in the work, and that it will undoubtedly prove, from this

viewpoint 'not only acceptable but admirable'. This is not to say, however, that the Te

Deum contains 'no single appeal to the heart'. 82

The Te Deum inevitably invited comparison with the Requiem, and this is a

recurrent feature of reviews following the first performance of the new work on 6

October. Thompson, now in a position to pass a considered judgement, states at the

outset that the Requiem gave an indication of what to expect from a Te Deum from the

same hand, but suggests that the difference between the two works is 'more than one of

degree, it is of kind'. Stanford has now 'grafted upon his earlier manner, in which

modem Teutonic influences were apparent, a Southern sensuousness that is exactly in

keeping with music intended primarily . . . as an accompaniment of worship in the

Church of Rome'. Struck by the 'practical character' of the Te Deum, which is 'grateful

to the executants' and secured a 'brilliantly successful' performance, Thompson

nevertheless believes that its artistic value must be judged in relation to the Requiem.

80
LM, 26 September 1898, 3.
81
YP, 4 October 1898, 4.
82
DTel, 5 October 1898, 10.
 189

The text of a Te Deum, he observes, is less varied than that of a Requiem, giving fewer

opportunities for 'deeply emotional' treatment:

Though jubilant music may stir, it is not in the same way, or to the same extent, that pathetic strains excite
our emotion.... On its own merits, however, [the Te Deum] must be described as a very fine work ...
The music, like that of the Requiem, has a distinct tinge of modem Italian feeling .... Briefly, our
conclusion is that the Te Deum is a very brilliant, clever and effective work, not perhaps from its nature
so intimate in expression as parts of the Requiem, but dignified as well as jubilant in character. 83

The Leeds Mercury critic expresses great admiration for Stanford's new work

which, while perhaps not the equal of the Requiem, has 'much of the same spirit and the

same warmth of colouring'. He then goes on to say that the Te Deum is 'essentially

modern' in spirit, for 'the composer knows well that it is not possible to adopt the

language of our forefathers with any chance of abiding success' - seemingly a reference

to such failed attempts in Stanford's two oratorios. The writer then praises the Te Deum

both for 'breadth and melodic beauty' and for 'colour, contrast, and warmth of

expression', additionally pointing out, though not in a pejorative sense, a Verdi an

influence. Stanford's sureness of touch is complimented in the following terms:

The most striking feature of the new work is that it is evidently the production of one who is sure of his
effects. The composer knows what he wants and how to obtain it, and nowhere do we meet with that
distressing apparition - the bony outline of thought in search of proper clothing. . .. The whole work is
well planned and carried out on a consistent plane of excellence. 84

Arthur Johnstone's Manchester Guardian review praises the Te Deum, which is

'laid out on a scale of the utmost breadth and grandeur' and recalls aspects of the

Requiem. The music is 'stamped by a striking combination of richness and dignity',

and in the finale there is a climax of 'overwhelming grandeur', though a section near the

end using six-eight time is singled out as being 'of questionable propriety in an

ecclesiastical work'. 85 The performance, says Johnstone, was a 'complete success in

every respect'.

83
YP, 7 October 1898; 5.
84
LM, 7 October 1898, 5.
85
ManGuard, 7 October 1898, 6. It is difficult to identify from this article Johnstone's exact meaning,
for much of the sixth movement is in 6-8 time. In a review of the Manchester performance under Richter
in 1902, however, Johnstone returns to the same point, suggesting that the 6-8 rhythm at the opening of
the last movement 'possibly be considered a little wanting in dignity'.
 190

In his Times review, Fuller Maitland gives unqualified praise from the outset:

It may at once be said that the new Te Deum is . . . a composition of the highest class, worthy to stand
beside anything of the composer's, if it does not indeed surpass the beautiful Requiem ... in maturity of
style, masterly self-restraint, and emotional power. 86

A movement-by-movement account of the work's merits follows, concluding with a

claim that the work 'abounds in gorgeous vocal and orchestral colouring imagined and

carried out with a power which no other composer of the present day possesses in an

equal degree'. One more example of this critic's undimmed support for Stanford.

Joseph Bennett, clearly not as impressed with the Te Deum as he was with the

Requiem, restates the opinion given in his earlier article (5 October) of the technical

brilliance of the work being at the expense of emotional involvement - a view shared in

the case of this work by a handful of other critics:

From beginning to end the new "Te Deum" invites the admiration of all who can appreciate consummate
dexterity in the manipulation of notes. Its cleverness almost carries the work to the level of a tour de
force, but for a touch of genuine feeling, a moment of true inspiration, one listens in vain. I gave ear this
morning to music whose structure held my attention firmly, whose phrases excited my keen interest in
their contrapuntal dexterity, whose climaxes sometimes impressed me, but for a thrill of such emotion as
heart-searching music brings with it I waited in vain, and the end found me admiring, but cold. 87

One article not to mention the Requiem at all is that in the Daily Chronicle, which

describes the Te Deum as 'dignified- not to say stately' yet 'at no point sombre', the

vocal and instrumental workmanship being 'as good as anything of the kind to which

Professor Stanford has put his signature'. After a detailed account of the work's

features the final judgement is of 'a masterly work that deserves to rank among

[Stanford's] highest achievements'. 88

The Daily Graphic appointed a new music critic, Richard Streatfeild, in 1898, and it

is probably therefore he who is the author of an extensive article which begins by

stating that, although Stanford has for years had an 'assured position' as a composer,

since his Requiem he 'can only be judged by the very highest standard'. Is the Te Deum

86
T, 7 October 1898,9.
87
DTel, 7 October 1898, 7.
88
DChr, 7 October 1898, 6.
 191

'worthy of the composer ofthe Requiem?'. The answer, according to Streatfeild, is 'an

emphatic affirmative': it shows the same 'mastery of musical resource' and 'facility in

melodic invention' as the earlier work. Despite the more limited scope for expression in

the text, Stanford has 'contrived to infuse a surprising amount ofvariety into his music'.

Several specific moments in the score are praised, although the final chorus is judged on

the whole the least successful movement, despite its 'glorious finish'. 89 It seems as if

with Streatfeild had emerged another strong supporter of Stanford's choral music.

The Morning Post review, whether by Hervey or Francis Barrett, seems curiously

imperceptive in some ways. In referring to the Te Deum as 'a masterly composition,

thoroughly English in conception and working out, [my italics] and a worthy companion

to the same composer's "Requiem"', it appears to have completely overlooked the

Italian influence identified by many other critics. Furthermore, the author, in regretting

the choice of Latin text, since it precludes its use in English Church services 'for which

it is admirably adapted on the celebration of festivals', seems to be unaware of the fact

that the work is both too long and too difficult for liturgical use. 90

Blackburn, in the Pall Mall Gazette, once again states his admiration for Stanford's

powers as a musician, but expresses disappointment in the Te Deum, which seems to be

devoid of the 'delicacy', 'spirituality' and 'tenseness of feeling' which he has

appreciated in other works by the composer. The 'Per singulos dies' movement,91

continues the critic, has 'great sweetness', and the accompaniments are 'charmingly

inspired', but in general the work displays 'unmistakable dulness, occasionally relieved

by work that seems so dramatically inappropriate as to reach the borders oftriviality'. 92

It is clear from such comments that Blackburn's opinions of the Te Deum and Requiem

89
DGr, 7 October 1898, 7.
90
MP, 7 October 1898,6.
91
The fourth movement of the Te Deum, for vocal quartet.
92
PMG, 7 October 1898,3.
 192

are very much in accord, and one is given the impression that this critic, like Shaw and

Runciman, believed Stanford's talents to be misdirected in writing such works.

Amongst the weekly journals, a column in the Athenaeum, probably by its new

critic, John Shedlock, is the most substantial and interesting, for it mirrors the

reservations expressed by Bennett in the Daily Telegraph. After describing Stanford as

a proven 'master of his art' and stating that the new Te Deum 'commands respect'

Shedlock continues: 'But cleverness makes no appeal to the feelings; only in so far as

music is emotional does it give real satisfaction'. Here lies the problem with the Te

Deum, whose character the writer considers 'objective rather than subjective', ranking it

lower than the 'fine Requiem'. Individual moments in the score are admired, even

praised, and the performance described as 'magnificent' .93

A short paragraph in the Cambridge Review reflects the continuing interest of that

paper in new works by Cambridge men, but it also rates Stanford's Te Deum below the

Requiem, 'although certain individual movements are more beautiful than any in the

earlier work' .94

Frederick Edwards, recently appointed editor of the Musical Times, shows his ardent

support for Stanford's new work, commenting that in both the Te Deum and the

Requiem there is 'mingled with Teutonic sobriety and intellectuality a distinct feeling of

Latin sensuousness'- a blend 'not incongruous'. He continues by judging the Te Deum

'among the best balanced and sustained' of Stanford's works, adding: 'It is, moreover,

thoroughly grateful and effective music'. Despite the fewer opportunities in the Te

Deum text for 'emotional treatment', there are moments to equal the most moving in the

Requiem, and the Te Deum is 'perhaps more evenly sustained and better balanced' .95

93
Ath, 15 October 1898, 535-6.
94
CamRev, 13 October 1898,9-10. A short work by Alan Gray, Stanford's successor at Trinity, was also
performed at the Leeds Festival.
95
MT, 1 November 1898, 730-2.
 193

A brief, but interesting comment appears in the Musical Opinion, for once not

borrowed from elsewhere, but expressly written for the journal, it would appear, from

the initials 'E.A.B.' at the end, by the critic Edward Baughan. Referring to the divisions

of opinion as to the relative merits of the Requiem and the Te Deum, Baughan concedes

that the latter is in some respects 'more organically consistent' with less 'suggestion of

forcing'. 'But,' he continues, 'it is not so much an outcome of the composer's feeling

and is conceived in an objective and decorative style', adding: 'it never touches you,

and the relentless angularity of the musical style sometimes becomes absolutely

wearisome'. This critic, clearly much of a mind with Bennett and Shedlock, cannot

agree with those who rank the work equal with the Requiem. 96

As far as the musical press is concerned, it is Musical News which on this occasion

carries the most extensive commentary on the Te Deum, for it is mentioned in no fewer

than three places in the issue dated 15 October. The first performance is mentioned

briefly in a column concerning the Leeds Festival concerts, and on the same page is

found a quotation from the Times review. 97 A few pages later, however, is found a

lengthy article entitled 'Leeds Festival Novelties' which includes a substantial section

on Stanford's Te Deum. 98 The critic, signing himself 'F.G.W.'(F. Gilbert Webb?),

explaining the Te Deum as a work written for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, says

that it gives 'striking proof of the 'immense progress' made by English composers

since the beginning of the Queen's reign. Foil owing a lengthy analysis of the work, he

concludes:

Throughout, the conception is lofty and noble, and while in places there is considerable warmth of
expression, the music is ever entirely in accord with English ideas of worship, and free from all approach
to sensationalism, dignity and impressiveness being its prevailing features.

96
MO, I November 1898,92-3.
97
MN, 15 October 1898, 329-30.
98
MN, 15 October 1898,341-3.
 194

Another choral work first heard at the 1898 Leeds Festival was Elgar's cantata

Caractacus, and Table 10 compares press reaction to this with critical comment upon

Stanford's Te Deum. Opinion on the merits of the latter work is more divided than was

the case with the Requiem in the previous year. Several writers comment upon

Stanford's technical prowess coupled with emotional detachment, though only one

article is seriously critical, while more than half of those reporting award the Te Deum

unreserved praise. In the case of Caractacus, however, critics are somewhat more

cautious, two-thirds of them expressing some reservations regarding the work, and two

writers fmding more serious shortcomings in it. No-one, however, finds any lack of

emotional warmth in the piece, while a couple of journalists pointedly admire Elgar's

technical accomplishment. The overall tone of commentary on Caractacus has an air of

critical encouragement for a composer of great promise who has still to make his mark

with a major success.

Nine further performances of the Te Deum are recorded between 1899 and 1905,

though only one of them was in London, and that at a concert privately sponsored by

Madame Albani. Critical opinion of the work seems to change little with further

hearings. In a brief but appreciative review of the London performance, Graves once

again castigates the 'leading metropolitan choral society' for its habitual neglect of the

'most important works of the leading native composers' .99 The Monthly Musical

Record, which had commented only briefly, though appreciatively, on the first

appearance of the Te Deum, fmds it, at a Gloucester Three Choirs performance in 1904,

99
Guard, 15 February 1899, 228. The choral society referred to is, of course, the Royal Choral Society.
A list of works perfonned by the RCS under Bridge's conductorship between 1896 and 1918 is given in
his autobiography A Westminster Pilgrim, 350-1, and amply verifies this accusation. Only tluee Stanford
works - Songs of the Sea (3 times), Stabat Mater, and Songs ofthe Fleet (all written after 1900) - were
perfonned during this period. Parry fared little better, and Mackenzie managed only one perfonnance.
Elgar was more favoured, with perfonnances of 8 different works (though Gerontius 13 times), but
during this 22 year period there were 45 perfonnances of Messiah (an average of2 per year) and 23 of
Elijah.
 Table 10
Press reception comparison of new works, Leeds Festival 1898

Te Deum (Latin) (Leeds 6 October 1898)

No. of reviews 24
Wholly laudatory 14
Laudatory with reservations 9
Critical 1
Comments on technique/cleverness 6
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 6

Stanford: Te Deum (Latin) (Leeds 6 October 1898)

30
11:1 No. of rev iew s
25
• Wholly laudatory
20
o Laudatory w ith
reservations
15
o Critical
10 • Comments on
technique/clev erness
5 o Comments on emotional
coldness/detachment

Comparison: Caractacus - Elgar (Leeds 5 October 1898)

No. ofreviews 14
WholJy laudatory 5
Laudatory with reservations 9
Critical 2
Comments on technique/cleverness 2
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 0

Comparison: CIJI'tlCIIKl lS - Ilgar (Leeds 5 October 1898)

16
14 No. of reviews
14

12 • Wholly laudatory

10 o Laudatory with
reservations
8
o Critical
6
• Comments on
4 tecnn· u cl v ern

2 o Comments on emotional
0 coldness/detachment
0
 196

disappointing, describing it as 'a made-up work without any clear individual note' . 100

That this was no fault of the performance, however, is demonstrated in other reviews,

the Musical Times, for example, once again praising the work as 'powerful', 'brilliant'

and 'admirably constructed' . 101

Speaking of a performance by the Halifax Choral Society in March 1905, the

Yorkshire Post claims that the 'virility and admirable workmanship' of the Te Deum

enable it to 'wear well' . 102 Such a prediction seems, however, to have been somewhat

optimistic, for after one further performance- at the Norwich Festival later the same

year, where it was enthusiastically received 103 - the Te Deum appears to have suffered

total neglect until 1919, when it was revived by the Halifax Choral Society. Such

neglect is quite possibly due, as with the Requiem and the two oratorios, to the difficulty

and complexity of the music, which would put such works beyond the resources and

capabilities of many smaller choral societies. 104 It seems clear, however, that with his

Te Deum Stanford scored another significant success. Most press commentary found

the work impressive and effective, though a few critics doubted its emotional impact,

and the general consensus of opinion seemed to rank it not quite as high as the Requiem.

Smaller choral works for War, Coronation and Choral Festival

The two major Latin choral works first heard in 1897-8 were not succeeded by another

major choral work by Stanford for several years. Indeed his overall compositional

output for the years 1899-1903 seems rather thinner than usual, although it does include

a full-length opera- Much Ado About Nothing- and concertos for violin and clarinet.

100
MMR, 1 October 1904, 185-6.
101
MT, 1 October 1904, 657-9.
102
YP, 10 March 1905,6.
103
Even the MMR, presumably with a different critic (I December 1905, 223-4), and the PMG,
presumably not written by Blackburn (26 October 1905, 3), waxed highly enthusiastic following the
Norwich performance.
104
There were, however, exceptions, especially in the case of the Te Deum, which was successfully
performed at Bridlington and Hovingham- two of the smaller provincial festivals.
 197

As the horrors of the Boer War (1899-1902) began to figure ever more prominently

in the daily English news, Stanford was moved to write a short choral song in memory

of those who had died in the conflict. The Last Post, written to words by W.E. Henley,

scored for chorus and orchestra, and incorporating the famous bugle call, was completed

in May 1900 and first heard at a private concert in Buckingham Palace on 25 June. A

few days before the first public hearing of the work at the Hereford Festival, the

Musical Times, in an article describing the 'novelties' of the Festival, devotes half a

page to an account of The Last Post, complete with music examples. The setting, it

predicts, 'is likely to prove one of [Stanford's] most popular works', for it deals with a

'pathetically stirring' subject, and the music is 'direct in expression' and 'as effective as

the composer of the 'Revenge' knows how to make such patriotic pieces' . 105

Following the first performance in Hereford Cathedral on 11 September press

opinion is almost unanimous in its praise for The Last Post, some reports hailing it as

another worthy successor to The Revenge. Bennett, for example, in the Daily

Telegraph, referring also to another of Stanford's successes in the mid-1880s, says of it:

The choral music, safe in the hand which gave us "The Revenge" and the beautiful setting of Whitman's
"Ode on the Death of President Lincoln," is a powerful and exact expression in music of the poet's
feeling in words. It bristles with points of interest, and is full of true and moving effects. 106

In similar vein, 'J.E.T.' states in the Guardian that the music is 'in felicitous accord

with the spirit of the poem, and in its skilful part-writing and orchestration is fully

worthy of the composer of the "Revenge"'. 107 The Graphic describes The Last Post as

'one of those examples of effective choral descriptive writing which Dr. Stanford has so

often given us', 108 the Musical Times claims that the work 'gave evidence of that skill in

craftsmanship and grasp of effect which has long been one of the attributes of the

105
MT, I September I900, 60 I.
106
DTe/, I2 September I900, 7.
107
Guard, 19 September I900, I299.
108
Graph, I5 September 1900,404.
 198

Cambridge Professor', 109 and Streatfeild in the Daily Graphic goes so far as to describe

it as 'a little masterpiece' which has a 'true ring of patriotism' and 'pathos' without

'sentimentality' . 110

Features of The Last Post singled out for particular praise in two papers are the

funeral march and the 'impetuous allegro' at the words 'Labour and love, and strife and

mirth'. 111 Some critics feel that the piece will catch on with choral societies:

The composer has made the most of his opportunities by supplying choral societies with a stirring piece,
possessing abundant swing and more contrast than seems possible from a frrst reading of the poem. 112

From a musical point of view, the choral song is simple enough ... and although it is short, the piece bids
fair to become exceedingly popular with choral societies. 113

The work is short, but is almost bound to prove highly successful, particularly among our choral societies,
who are ever on the look out for brief, not too difficult, but certainly effective compositions of this
character. 114

Shedlock, however, is not so sure of its staying power:

The work is a real piece d'occasion. It will probably not enjoy a long lease oflife, but the music is clever,
direct, and dignified. 115

The one dissenting voice is, yet again, that of Vernon Blackburn. He begins a

substantial article in the Pall Mall Gazette by expressing great reservations about the

nature of the concert including not only Stanford's Last Post but also a new Te Deum

setting by Parry. A cathedral, he thinks, is not the place for a concert labelled 'Patriotic

Performance'. In this opinion he is, in fact, supported by others, notably Bennett in the

Daily Telegraph and (probably F.G. Edwards) in the Musical Times. Having expressed

his doubts on this matter, he continues by lavishing considerable praise upon Parry's Te

Deum, but then, coming to Stanford's work, he voices a very different opinion:

If ... Parry had surprised me by an unexpected level of excellence, Professor Stanford equally surprised
me by the poorness of his inspiration. . .. Professor Stanford has practically done no justice whatever to
his subject. There is a blare, and a shouting, and a rush, and behind it all there is nothing, absolutely
nothing. . . . I am sorry to have to record so much, because, though Dr. Stanford will hardly credit my

109
MT, 1 October 1900, 657-8.
110
DGr, l3 September 1900, 11.
111
See Ath, 15 September 1900, 354, and T, 12 September 1900, 4.
112
DChr, 12 September 1900, 6.
113
DN, 12 September 1900,4.
114
Graph, as above.
115
Ath, as above.
 199

assertion, I would far sooner praise than blame his work. But this is not the kind of work which he is
fitted to do, gifted with fancy, with versatility, and with fine mastery of music, he invariably comes to
grief when he tries to beat the big drum, when he attempts the robust, the heroic, the broad effects of life.
It is no good: he cannot pull them off; and there's an end to it. But I am particularly sorry for Mr. Henley,
whose work deserved a better fate. 116

Here is Blackburn's opinion laid bare: like Shaw, and like Runciman, he is constantly

frustrated by what he regards as Stanford's misapplication of an enormous talent. The

irascible composer's reaction to comment such as this can only be imagined- but it is

possible that he avoided reading it, for he must have known by now what to expect from

this particular quarter.

Those critics who predicted that the Last Post would prove popular with choral

societies were soon proved correct, for a steady stream of further performances

followed, including, within the first year, hearings in Cambridge and at the Gloucester

and Leeds Festivals. In each case the work meets with warm approval, though it is the

Leeds performance which is the most widely reported, the Daily News stating that The

Last Post has, as anticipated, 'become a popular and very well known work' . 117 The

Yorkshire papers, too, give favourable reactions following this Leeds Festival hearing.

The Leeds Mercury informs us that the work has previously been heard in the city, and

goes on to describe it as 'strong, picturesque, and short', saying further that it

'effectually conjures up a moving picture in which pride and pathos struggle for

mastery' . 118 Thompson also has positive things to say of the work in a substantial

Yorkshire Post article, and provides additional confirmation that, since its first

performance at a State Concert the previous year 'it has been heard on many occasions'.

He suggests that the 'commemorative character' of the piece probably has something to

do with its recent popularity, and continues:

116
PMG, 12 September 1900,4.
117
DN, II October 1901, 5.
118
LM, I1 October 1901, 5.
 200

... so long as the South African war dribbles on it must continue to have a special appropriateness, but it
must be conceded that the intrinsic qualities of this Choral Song are alone sufficient to account for its
success. 119

In the process of pointing to the virtues of The Last Post. however, Thompson identifies

from a slightly different angle the so-often-perceived weakness in Stanford's musical

persona:

[Stanford's] keen literary instinct enables him to appreciate ... a good poem, his sense of proportion
makes the construction of his works well balanced, and his sense of the ridiculous has an obvious
negative value when he attempts the sublime. In the expression of passionate emotion this same
appreciation of the ridiculous has an obvious drawback; though an Irishman he has much of the English
dislike of wearing his heart on his sleeve, and is perhaps rather too afraid of "giving himself away." But
in "The Last Post" there is no call for an unrestrained display of emotion, the poet's mood is vigorous and
manly, and, from "The Revenge" onwards, Dr. Stanford has always been happy in expressing the
sentiment of breezy patriotism, which is heightened rather than depressed by thoughts of the heroes who
have sacrificed their lives for their country.

Thus, in Thompson's view, chief obstacles to this composer's real success in music

where sublime or deeply emotional feeling are required are not only his 'English

stiffness' but his Irish 'sense of the ridiculous'. Stanford's somewhat stiff and aloof

style found expression not only in his compositions but also in his conducting.

Comments by various writers attest to this, the sketch of him conducting the

Birmingham final rehearsal for his Requiem (shown in Illustration 6) suggests the same

rather detached style, and another sketch, this time of a 1901 Leeds Festival

performance, (shown as Illustration 7) further reinforces this view. 120 As to his 'sense

of the ridiculous', Greene's biography of Stanford refers to several incidents which

testify to the composer's keen sense ofhumour. 121

Despite its special connotations during the Boer War, The Last Post retained a

degree of popularity with choral societies and their audiences fairly consistently for

more than two decades. It is certain that the work was performed at least once or twice

in most years up to the early 1920s, and by the end of 1922 well over sixty

119
YP, 11 October 1901,8.
120
It seems reasonable to assume that the conductor depicted in this sketch, from the Musical Opinion, is
Stanford, since he had at this time just assumed the Leeds Festival conductorship, succeeding Sullivan.
121
Greene, Stanford, 18, 112-3 and others.
Illustration 7: Sketch from Musical Opinion, 1 November 1901, 107, showing a concert
in the Town Hall during the Leeds Festival of that year, Stanford's frrst season as
Festival Conductor
 202

performances are definitely recorded. 122 At first the work had no rival, perhaps with the
123
sole exception of Charles Wood's Dirge for Two Veterans (another Whitman setting),

but during the Great War works such as Elgar's trilogy The Spirit of England -

especially For the Fallen - and Carillon presented serious rivals for the affections of

the public. The survival of Stanford's work in the face of such competition seems to

. establ"Ishe d position.
affi rm Its . . 124

The next occasion for which Stanford was asked to provide a choral work was the

Coronation of King Edward VII - an event which eventually took place in August 1902.

The story of the original omission of the composer's name from the list of those invited

to provide music for this state occasion carries more than a suggestion of intrigue and

animosity, at least some of it no doubt attributable to Frederick Bridge, Abbey Organist

since the 1870s, although Stanford is said not to have acquitted himself too well in the

matter either. 125 It may have been Stanford's late inclusion which necessitated his re-

fashioning an existing piece rather than composing something completely new.

Eventually being asked for a Te Deum, he decided to make use of his B flat setting of

1879 (Op.l 0) - a work which was already extremely well-known, widely used and

popular - adding an opening fanfare, and scoring the whole piece for standard orchestra

with organ. An appreciative account of the full score in the Musical Times for August

1902 makes it clear that Stanford has felt free to re-compose and embellish the

accompaniment, adding several delicate touches which do not appear in the original
126
organ part - a technique he would later use in orchestrations of other service

122
As with other short and straightforward choral works by Stanford, including the Revenge, the actual
number of performances is most probably far greater, since those given by smaller choirs in more remote
districts may often riot have attracted the attention of national and musical journals.
123
First heard at Leeds, conducted by Wood, on 10 October 1901- the same day as The Last Post.
124
There are at least 9 recorded performances of The Last Post during the 1914-18 period, somewhat
~uali:tying Paul Rodmell's assertion that it dropped out of use at this time (Stanford, 204).
15
See Rodmell, Stanford, 220-l for an account ofthis episode, partly quoting Parry's diary.
126
MT, I August 1902, 536.
 203

settings. 127 This deftly orchestrated version subsequently made the Te Deum more
128
popular than ever, especially for festival occasions when an orchestra was available.

Another event connected with the Coronation was the conferral of a knighthood on
129
Stanford, announced m a Coronation Honours List published on 26 June 1902.

Although colleagues at the RCM and RAM - Grove, Parry, Parratt, Bridge and

Mackenzie had all been awarded knighthoods in the last years of Queen Victoria's

reign, they had been given them principally for the positions they held. Stanford, as

pointed out by Rodmell, 130 was the first musician to be honoured solely for his music

since Sullivan in 1883.

The following year Stanford was again invited to provide music for the annual

Festival ofthe Sons of Clergy held in St Paul's Cathedral. 131 The anthem he produced

for the occasion was a substantial setting of Bishop Heber's hymn The Lord of Might

for baritone solo, choir, orchestra and organ. Of the few newspaper reports of the

festival service on 13 May, The Times is one of the most forthcoming, with a substantial

paragraph describing Stanford's anthem. Having first declared the subject of Heber's

text- the 'Theophany on Sinai' -as a difficult one to set to music, the article declares

that Stanford has succeeded where many others might have failed, producing 'a work of

great dignity and beauty' . 132 The Guardian agrees with this judgement, admiring the

composer's treatment of the text, especially the 'closing lines of triumph' and the

'reference to Calvary' in the second verse of the hymn. 133 Despite an initially

favourable reception, however, and the publication by Boosey of a vocal score with

organ accompaniment arranged by George Martin, The Lord of Might has only two

127
As for example the Evening Service in G, orchestrated for the 1907 Gloucester Festival.
128
The Church Orchestral Society, based in London, (see chapter I, 22-3) would certainly have
accompanied the B flat Te Deum several times.
129
The original date fixed for the Coronation itself, postponed until 9 August due to the King's sudden
illness.
130
Rodmell, Stanford, 221-2.
131
In 1880 he had written the Evening Service in A for this Festival.
132
T, 14 May 1903, 11.
133
Guard, 20 May 1903, 740.
 204

further performances reported in the press - both of them in Sheffield ( 1906 and 191 0)

- and does not seem to figure in those weekly lists of cathedral and parish church music

published in musical journals. It appears, in fact, that the piece never became very well

known or widely used.

Songs of the Sea

The genesis of Stanford's next work involving voices is recounted by its dedicatee and

first executant, Harry Plunket Greene. 134 Starting as just a pair of settings of poems by

Henry Newbolt- Devon, 0 Devon and Outward Bound- the Songs of the Sea expanded

to include three further settings - The Old Superb, Drake 's Drum and Homeward Bound

- the words of the last being specially written at the request of Stanford and Greene to

complement Outward Bound. Originally conceived as straightforward songs for

baritone and piano, the addition, not only of orchestra, but also of male-voice chorus

seemed a natural development as composition progressed. 135 The sentiments expressed

in Newbolt's poetry were very much in tune with public sentiment at this time, and

most particularly in the immediate aftermath of the Boer War, and Stanford's apposite

and, in some cases, racy settings made an immediate appeal to the hearts and minds of

the English people. Greene's own account of the rehearsal and first performance at the

1904 Leeds Festival, though partisan, gives a flavour of the excitement generated by the

songs:

I shall never forget the enthusiasm of the chorus when we tried them through the first time, nor the cheers
when [Stanford] told the tenors that they could sing the F and top B flat (not in the original score) at the
fmish of 'The Old Superb.' Everything went right on the night and 'The Old Superb' taken at a break-
neck pace whirled the audience off their feet. 136

Herbert Thompson, too, is highly complimentary following the full rehearsal:

[The songs] went with proper spirit, and the rollicking character of the last one made so great a furore that
it had to be repeated ... and it must be confessed that the high B flat at the close - interpolated after the

134
Greene, Stanford, 134-5.
135
Some years later Stanford produced a version of the Songs of the Sea with mixed chorus.
136
Greene, Stanford, 134.
 205

manner of tenors, but on this occasion "by permission of the composer" - was quite irresistible, sung as it
was with the clearness of a bell. 137

Thompson goes further than this, however, predicting that with these songs Plunket

Greene 'will ... achieve the popular triumph of the week, and that without playing to

the gallery'. Following this same rehearsal, the Leeds Mercury is equally enthusiastic,

declaring of the Songs of the Sea that 'the wind of popularity is already in their sails'

and that without a doubt they will 'attain the haven of success'. The whole work is

'good', but The Old Superb is 'a perfect hurricane of a song'. 138

Thompson's enthusiasm for the Songs ofthe Sea continues unabated following the

first performance, his Yorkshire Post article being the most substantial of all accounts of

the occasion. His earlier prediction has proved correct, and he declares at the outset that

the Songs of the Sea have won the 'popular success' ofthe Festival- and deservedly so.

He continues:

In this type of work the composer is supreme. He understands the importance of lightness of touch, and is
never guilty of over-elaborating his score, yet never misses a point that can be enforced by musical
means. His delicacy and sureness of touch reminds one of a Meissonier, and, in spite of his successes in
other lines I cannot help thinking that he is at his very best in miniature work. His touches of
orchestration are always happy and appropriate, and he catches the breezy, patriotic mood of these poems
with unfailing ability. 139

The comment about Stanford's absolute supremacy in small-scale works is interesting,

for it crops up elsewhere from time to time. Homeward Bound is identified as the 'gem'

of the set: 'a truly charming song, instinct with grace and melodic beauty, and conjuring

up an atmosphere'- in fact, one of the composer's 'happiest inspirations'. Thompson

concludes by referring to the 'superb' singing of both the soloist and the male chorus,

which 'enjoyed itself hugely'.

The Leeds Mercury is also warmly appreciative of these 'real sea songs, with the

notion of the main and the spirit of the fo' scle [sic]', though not as effusive in its praise

137
YP, 4 October 1904, 5.
138
LM, 4 October 1904, 6.
139
YP, 8 October 1904, 10.
 206

as the YP, and also identifies Homeward Bound as the 'most beautiful song' of the

group.I40

Coverage of this Leeds Festival in the national and arts press seems somewhat

patchy. 141 Some of the existing reports remind us of other new works in the Festival

programme. Of these, Walford Davies' cantata Everyman was to prove a significant

choral work of substance, and went on to receive numerous further performances during

the next decade or more. The Musical Times Festival review expresses its judgement

that Everyman was the 'most serious' and 'most memorable' new work, giving the

Festival 'its greatest distinction'. Charles Wood's Ballad of Dundee is afforded only a

lukewarm reception, but warm praise is reserved for Stanford's Violin Concerto

(performed by Kreisler) and for the Songs of the Sea, which provide 'delightful

examples of the Irish composer's genius' .142

The Daily News contrasts Wood's and Stanford's treatments of their respective texts

(both works being performed in the same concert). Wood's Ballad is not reckoned as

one of his better works, being 'pretentious and uninspired'. Stanford, however, has

'abandoned the attitude of an art-musician' and 'speaks in a clever musical Kiplingese'

-which is, however, no more than clever, being dependent upon 'little tricks of rhythm

of scoring'. This critic (who produces another article on similar lines for Musical

Opinion) seems impervious to the more reflective and subtle songs in the set, for he

cites Drake 's Drum and The Old Superb as the best numbers, and also comments,

revealingly, on Plunket Greene's faulty intonation. 143

140
LM, 8 October 1904, 6.
141
DTel, PMG, Graph, Ath, SatRev, & Guard did not cover the Festival at all, and T carried only a brief
summary of the evening concert including the Sea Songs, claiming that it was too soon to give a balanced
judgement on three newo works a mere hour or two after hearing them.
142
MT, 1 November 1904,730-2.
143
DN, 8 October 1904, 8. Although he was one of the most celebrated English baritones of his day, and
was generally highly regarded, this criticism of HPG is no isolated example. There are several other
occasions on which various critics mention either faulty intonation (often flat) or an excess of
sentimentality in his singing.
 207

Streatfeild, in the Daily Graphic, compares the Sea Songs to the much earlier

Cavalier Lyrics (or songs) 'to which in a sense they form a pendant', though covering a

much wider emotional range. The 'profound feeling' of some of Newbolt's verse is

'exquisitely echoed' in Stanford's music. 144

Of the remaining papers reporting the Festival, Stratton in the Monthly Musical

Record expresses admiration for the Sea Songs, stating that, while they are 'not

absolutely of festival rank' -a remark presumably referring to their scale and mood-

they will 'assuredly tum out to be the most popular ofthe novelties'. Three ofthe songs

are 'rollicking'; two are 'pathetic'; and all have 'fine scoring' and 'a lilt that is

irresistible' .145 A short and predictably enthusiastic paragraph in the Cambridge Review

claims that Stanford, with his Violin Concerto and his 'stirring cycle of sea songs' has

'strengthened his position as one of the greatest living musicians' . 146

The most significant new choral work performed alongside Stanford's songs at the

1904 Leeds Festival is Everyman, a substantial cantata by Henry Walford Davies, and

the work that proved to be, for a few years, his greatest popular success. Table 11

compares critical reaction to this with initial assessments of Stanford's Songs of the Sea.

It is perhaps surprising to note, in view of their subsequent huge popularity, that a third

of critics express slight reservations about one or more of Stanford's songs, though no-

one ventures to deny the warmth and verve of the music. Comments upon Everyman

are more evenly divided between those awarding fullest praise and those expressing

more muted appreciation - perhaps an understandable situation following the first

hearing of a much larger, more serious and complicated work.

144
DGraph, 8 October I904, I 0.
145
MMR, I November I904, 205-6.
146
CamRev, 27 October I904, 26.
 Table 11
Press reception comparison of new works, Leeds Festival 1904

Songs of the Sea (Leeds 7 October 1904)

No. ofreviews 12
Wholly laudatory 8
Laudatory with reservations 4
Critical 0
Comments on technique/cleverness 1
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 0

Stanford: Songs of the Sea (Leeds 7 October 1904)

14
12 c No. of reviews
12
11 Wholly laudatory
10
o Laudatory w ith
8 reservations
o Critical
6

4 • Comments on
teclmiquelcleverness

2 c Comments on emotional
coldness/detachment
0
0

Comparison: Everyman- Walford Davies (Leeds 6 October 1904)

No. of reviews 11
Wholly laudatory 5
Laudatory with reservations 6
Critical 0
Comments on technique/cleverness
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 0

Comparison: E-veryman - Walford Davies

(Leeds 6 October 1904)

12
I c No. of reviews

10
• Wholly laudatory

8
o Laudatory w ith
reservations
6
o Critical

4
• Comments on
techruquelcleverness
2
o Comments on emotional
0 coldness/detachment
0
 209

Despite the initial reservations of a few critics, the Songs of the Sea were taken up

very rapidly by choral groups in all parts of the country, and within a year or two hardly

a month went by without a performance of them somewhere or other. Plunket Greene

was the soloist on many occasions, but numerous other baritones also took the songs

into their repertoire. The version of the songs with mixed choir (referred to earlier on

page 204, footnote 135) was first performed by the Royal Choral Society, conducted by

Bridge, in a concert on 25 November 1916. 147 Once again, Greene was the soloist.

It seems clear that with the Songs of the Sea Stanford had once again judged popular

taste with uncanny accuracy and, after several failed attempts, created a work which

would prove a true successor to The Revenge in its wide appeal. In this it was aided by

its brevity (about eighteen minutes), its straightforward character, and its flexibility -

the songs could be performed individually, or in groups (and quite often were), the

orchestra was not essential, and there was also a potential for the songs to be performed

by a solo singer without the chorus parts added. The composer's own later arrangement

of the chorus parts for SATB further increased the range of possibilities. A further

indication of the popularity of the Sea Songs is the fact that Boosey's saw fit to publish

them in full score - not a common occurrence at that time, and fairly rare amongst

Stanford's larger scale choral works. 148 To this day songs such as Drake's Drum and

The Old Superb retain their irresistible attraction.

The 1907 Leeds Festival and Stabat Mater

By the time of his second Leeds Festival in 1904, Stanford was into his fifties and,

although still at the height of his powers, was beginning to find himself competing for

public attention not only with his peers in English music, but increasingly with bright

147
See MN, 2 December 1916, 355.
148
The Requiem was also published in full score, demonstrating an expectation of its continuing
popularity during the frrst decade of the new century.
 210

young composers of the next generation - many of them his own pupils. It is of some

significance, in this context, that works such as Coleridge-Taylor's Hiawatha trilogy

(part one first performed at the RCM as early as 1898), Wood's Dirge for Two Veterans

(Leeds 1901), Holbrooke's Queen Mab and, above all, Walford Davies' Everyman (both

performed at Leeds 1904) had considerable and, in the case ofthe Coleridge-Taylor and

Davies works, lasting popular success. This trend would continue and increase as time

passed, and while Stanford's own (commissioned) contribution to the 1907 Leeds

Festival - his Stabat Mater - was by far the most substantial of the 'novelties', five

other new choral works also made their appearance, all of them by considerably

younger men, and three of them former Stanford pupils. 149

As usual, there is a certain amount of anticipatory press coverage of the 1907 Leeds

Festival, especially concerning the new works, with the Stabat Mater attracting the most

attention. A short column in the Daily Chronicle describes the work as 'extremely

impressive', with 'exceptionally fine' choruses, 150 while the first of two preparatory

Yorkshire Post articles voices a general impression (following a London rehearsal) that

Stanford 'has happily blended warmth of manner with deep reverential expression', and

continues: 'There is no approach to academical classicism, and complexities seem to

have been studiously avoided' . 151 These comments from YP acknowledge the overt

Verdian character of the Stabat Mater, exemplified by the extensive use of homophonic

textures, and the prominent role of orchestral brass. Perhaps Stanford's avoidance of

complexity was something he had learned from the failures of his two oratorios, whilst

simpler textures and more forthright utterance had proved successful in the Requiem and

Te Deum. This success in his Latin text works seems to be acknowledged in the Leeds

149
These other new works were by Vaughan Williams (Toward the Unknown Region), Somervell
(Intimations of Immortality), Boughton (Choral Folksongs), Bantock (Sea Wanderers) and Brewer (In
sgringtime).
10
DChr, 4 October 1907, 3.
151
YP, 3 October 1907,6. A second article the next day (page 6) merely gives an analysis ofthe work,
eschewing critical comment.
 211

Mercury, which claims that the composer has, with the two earlier works, 'conclusively

proved his power as a writer of what may be conveniently termed ecclesiastical music',
152
and the Stabat Mater 'will not be found inferior to its predecessors' .

The first performance was widely covered in the press, and almost all commentators

speak warmly of the novel form of this new setting of the Stabat Mater. Subtitled

Symphonic Cantata by the composer, the work was cast in five movements, the first and

third of which were purely orchestral. Many critics see this almost as a 'choral

symphony' format, and applaud StarJford's originality in breaking away from the

conventional division of the text into separate arias and choruses found in several

previous settings.

Thompson contributes a very substantial article in the Yorkshire Post, beginning

with just such a view of the work's form. Comparing it with Stanford's previous Latin

works, he then says:

[The Stabat Mater] has the emotional feeling of the best parts of his Requiem, together with a
construction which reminds us of the Te Deum, while in dramatic intensity and conciseness of expression
it surpasses both. Like them, it is in the Verdi vein, ... the vocal writing, the melodic character, and the
general phraseology are more Latin than Teutonic, as is in keeping with the nature of the language and the
poem. The purely abstract musical beauty of the work is great, and several of the themes are of great
melodic charm. 153

Such references to Verdian style and emphasis on sweeping and elegant melodic lines

recur many times in other accounts, and can be taken to account for a good deal of the

work's appeal. Thompson singles out 'fine proportions' and 'thoughtful, logical

construction' as the most distinctive features of the Stabat Mater, commenting: 'The

interest never slackens, but the ideas, while fully developed, are concisely stated'. In

common with one or two other critics, he regards the ending of the work as perhaps

'rather protracted', but admits that this very protractedness is easy to understarJd in

context. The orchestration is praised as 'broadly conceived, as well as being finished in

every detail, though it has not the characteristics of the most modem scores in the

152
LM, 3 October 1907, 5.
153
YP, II October I907, 7.
 212

quality of the colouring'. One wonders which particular 'modem' composers

Thompson was thinking of here - quite possibly Strauss and Debussy, to name but

two. 154 In his concluding sentences, Thompson sums up the Stabat Mater as essentially

'a practicable, not an experimental work', all of whose effects are 'well-calculated'.

Referring to a 'really excellent' performance, despite the last-minute substitution of

soprano soloist, he says:

The composer conducted with a point and warmth that communicated themselves to the singers and
orchestra, and had much to do with the spirit of the performance.

On this last point we shall see some divergence of opinion, however.

The Leeds Mercury column, almost as expansive as its sister paper's, approaches the

subject, under the sub-heading 'An Impressive Novelty', with an interesting summary

ofthe composer's qualities which reflects the opinion of many critics:

Sir Charles Stanford is a tried man, and nothing that he produces can be devoid of value. At times the
academic gains the upper hand in his manifold nature, and he gives us cold, clever music that leaves us
equally frigid. But now and again a Celtic warmth takes possession of him, and he writes moving music
with a strong assured hand that knows how to realise all that his heart and mind directs. In this spirit he
would seem to have composed his setting of the "Stabat Mater." 155

Surely here is represented, though in far more polite terms, the basic view point of men

such as Shaw, Blackburn and Runciman. The LM article continues, under a new sub-

heading 'Sir Chas. Stanford surpasses himself, by declaring the Stabat Mater 'the

finest work the composer has yet accomplished' -the writer knows of 'nothing that

speaks so much to the point or with so subtle an adaptation of means to purpose'. 'Its

charm', he says,' lies in the perfection of its proportions', every effect growing naturally

from the dramatic context, and expressed in the appropriate manner. 'There is truth in

every stroke, and conviction in every outline'. Like Thompson, this critic also sees in

the Stabat Mater 'a warmer and freer utterance' than in the Requiem or Te Deum, the

musical treatment being 'infinitely varied, so that the ear never wearies'. The

154
Most of the Strauss symphonic poems and Debussy's Nocturnes and La Mer were in circulation by
this time.
155
LM, II October 1907, 5.
 213

influences of Verdi and (at the end of the work) Wagner are acknowledged, but 'the

mental and musical force ... is essentially that of Sir Charles Stanford'. The final

verdict is that the Stabat Mater will 'surely live', for it has 'emotional beauty' and is

crafted by 'fine artistic taste' and 'musicianship that never errs'.

In The Times, Fuller Maitland states that while the Requiem and Te Deum 'stand

high among his greater compositions' and show his mastery of an Italian style, Stanford

has, in the Stabat Mater, 'touched a far higher point of his art', and the 'deeply felt

emotional expression' and 'true sincerity of ... devotional feeling' mark it out as 'a

creation of the utmost significance' in contemporary music. 156 Special reference is

made to the 'vigorous prelude', portraying the Passion 'with extraordinary skill' but 'no

touch of vulgar realism'. Other individual moments are praised, especially the 'noble

climax' and the 'beautiful and fresh' amens in the last movement. The performance

was 'admirable in every respect', despite the last-minute substitution of soprano soloist.

Joseph Bennett, briefly returning to duty after his official retirement, says that

Stanford has addressed his task 'with something like Catholic fervour' - there are no

'half-measures'. Referring to the novel form of the work, Bennett deems it highly

successful, the music showing the composer's 'firm, sure touch', 'readiness of resource'

and 'constructive skill'. The Stabat Mater, judges Bennett, is 'picturesque and vivid',

and altogether a 'great and striking work' . 157

A shorter and less detailed account than many others, the Daily Chronicle

nevertheless identifies in the Stabat Mater the influences of 'Brahms, Wagner, and even

Verdi' (my italics) -thus relegating to last in importance the style identified by most

other critics as the most apparent. Stanford's melodies 'charmed the ear', choruses

were 'occasionally thrilling', and the instrumentation was 'well worthy of the most

gifted orchestral colourist of the British school'. In short, it is the composer's 'best
156
T, II October I907, 10.
157
DTel, II October I907, II.
 214

work'. Clearly not the most perceptive of accounts, but expressing some widely held

.
vtews, neverthel ess. 158

By contrast, Edward Baughan's article in the Daily News is at once one of the

longest, most detailed and most interesting of accounts. This critic begins by

expounding upon the work's form, which he finds admirable, for Stanford 'has shown

sufficient initiative to break away from conventional form' and, he continues: 'It is well

that one of the leaders of our older school of composers should show the way to our

younger school - to some extent at least'. 159 Baughan then discusses the developing

role of the orchestra and its implications for choral works - Elgar and Bantock being

identified as pioneers of this development. Next he states his view that in the Stabat

Mater the orchestral Prelude is as the first movement of an instrumental symphony, the

remaining movements as those of a choral symphony, with the short orchestral

Intermezzo emphasising the importance of the orchestra in the overall scheme. From

the emotional point of view, Stanford has dealt with his subject 'in a thoroughly modem

spirit'. There is no attempt at 'sham ecclesiasticism', no 'pretence of an academic

aloofuess'. Every movement is inspired by a desire to express the emotion suggested by

the text- giving rise to a regret that 'so much of [Stanford's] work in the past has had a

different character'. In the Stabat Mater there is no 'shirking of melody', no 'pretence

of an unemotional superiority', and no 'dryness of workmanship': exactly the

sentiments expressed less expansively in other papers, the LM amongst them. At this

point, however, Baughan begins to express some modifications of his admiration for the

Stabat Mater - sentiments not encountered elsewhere. Apart from sharing Thompson's

view that the very end of the work is rather too protracted to hold the attention, he says

that some of the choral writing is 'not ... of the most striking character', although other

passages are extremely arresting. The orchestration, while as expert as ever, has in it
158
DChr, II October I907, 6.
159
DN, II October I907, 6.
 215

nothing new and 'little that is really distinctive'. Despite the novel form of the work,

Stanford 'fails to clutch at the heart of the listener or to grip his imagination'. He has,

moreover, 'never succeeded in evolving a style of his own': his music has, at different

times, betrayed the influence of Brahms, Wagner and Verdi, and now it is all three plus

other more recent composers. 'Never can you hear the real Stanford, and consequently,

even lofty music such as this "Stabat Mater" seems something outside oneself and

unsympathetic'. Despite all this, however, the work does represent Stanford 'in his

most interesting manner' and is 'a worthy example of British composition'. In

conclusion, Baughan expresses some reservations about the performance: the soloists

were not at their best, the chorus was 'ragged, listless, and inexpressive', and he 'could

not see that Sir Charles Stanford asked all he might from his singers'.

Streatfeild declares, in his Daily Graphic column, that he does not intend to 'rush

into wild superlatives, according to the received festival tradition' and declare the

Stabat Mater a 'great masterpiece'; that it is not, but it is 'a work of real ability, of fme

musicianship and of sustained power', also attractive for its 'frequent suggestions of

Verdi'. 160 He cites the importance of the orchestra as a distinctive feature of the work,

praising the 'elaborate prelude' which gives 'a musical picture of the Passion' with

'beautiful melody of the Italian type' and the Intermezzo for its 'thrilling' illustrations

of earthquake, darkness, and the 'rending of the veil'. The choral movements are,

according to Streatfeild, 'graphically devised' and 'elaborated by a master hand'.

Despite the Verdian flavour of the music, Stanford is 'no slavish copyist': his ideas are

his own, and often expressed with 'striking originality'. The finale comes in for

particular praise. The article concludes by referring to a 'masterly' performance in

which the chorus 'sang superbly', the orchestra 'played its very best', and the soloists

'all gave valuable assistance'.

160
DGr, II October 1907,10.
 216

The Morning Post critic (either Hervey or Barrett again) states that the Stabat Mater

made a 'most favourable impression' thanks to its 'uncomplicated harmonic design' and

'melodic style'. Stanford has approached his task 'in a graceful and sincere mood,

casting aside the fetters of the severer academic school'. The substantial article

continues:

The work sets an example which, it is hoped, will be followed, for while it is thoroughly modem in
treatment- the composer showing no hesitation in adopting the harmonic methods of the younger school
of musicians - yet he does not hesitate to retain his own individuality and to write melodiously
throughout the work, thus providing a composition of a character which denotes more clearly than
anything oflate from his or any other pen the real trend of the so-called "new school" ofmusic. 161

This paragraph again denotes the perception by some critics of Stanford's striking of a

careful balance in this work between progressive and conservative elements, and

expressing the hope that such a course may be followed by other, perhaps younger and

less experienced composers. The article continues by praising particular moments in

the score. In the opening symphonic prelude, for example, charged with Stanford's

admirable orchestral colour, 'his artistic resources have never been so well applied',

while the Intermezzo is 'of much musical interest and skill'. Of the performance, the

writer says that the orchestra was 'magnificent', but whilst the chorus 'sang well on the

whole', they were sometimes 'not in the middle of the note' with 'distressing effect

upon keen ears'.

From the complimentary tone of the Pall Mall Gazette review, it would seem that

Vernon Blackburn had died earlier in the year, and his (unknown) successor was far

more kindly disposed to the sort of music that Stanford so often produced. After a brief

description of the movements of the Stabat Mater, the article continues:

The work is undoubtedly one of great power and beauty; the devotional mood expressed is entirely free
from any unreal sentiment, which is perhaps due to the comfoser's power of assimilating the old model
style of melody, though not ... at the expense of originality. 16

161
MP, 11 October 1907, 6.
162
PMG, 11 October 1907,3.
 217

The final pages of the score are treated in a 'masterly way', the 'absence of a

sensational climax' being a particularly 'notable feature'. As to the performance, the

critic refers to 'fine singing' from the chorus, but, partly due to the replacement soprano

soloist, resulting in some lack of confidence and ease, there was ineffective balance in

the solo quartet.

Of the weekly journals, the Athenaeum carries perhaps the most substantial account

of the Stabat Mater. After some reference to the work's form, the writer (presumably

Shedlock) describes the music as 'clear in form and emotional in its appeal'- although

there is 'nothing sensational or ultra-modem', nor is there any 'obvious display of

learning'. The Finale contains 'powerful writing' which is, however, 'free from

anything of a secular character'. Shedlock's conclusion echoes the opinions of many of

his fellow critics:

Sir Charles Stanford can always write clever music; in this work, however, the words of the Latin hymn
seem to have touched his heart, and thus tempered his intellect. 163

In the Graphic, a shorter comment by a critic signing himself 'J.D.H.' sums up the

Stabat Mater as 'one of the most noble and expressive sacred works that its composer

has yet given us'. He does go on, however, to write a highly complimentary appraisal

of Vaughan Williams's Toward the Unknown Region which, 'though cast in a less

ambitious mould, is no less entirely successful'. He continues:

Dr. Vaughan Williams is a composer who has a great deal that is original to say, and not only is his new
work brilliantly written but it is also singularly imaginative. 164

The chorus, according to the writer, 'covered itself with glory' in these and other works.

Here we see emerging evidence of a situation referred to earlier: successful younger

composers - and in this particular case a former Stanford pupil - beginning to share the

limelight with, and eventually to displace, their senior colleagues and mentors.

163
Ath, 19 October 1907,490-1.
164
Graph, 19 October 1907,550.
 218

Praise for Vaughan Williams's work is by no means confined to one paper. Musical

News is also impressed by it, but identifies the composer as a somewhat insecure

conductor. Its coverage of the Leeds Festival spreads over three issues, each of which

refers glowingly to the Stabat Mater. Amongst the comments are those referring to the

'irresistible charm' of the Prelude, the second movement with its 'real Stanford' -

extremely poignant music, every touch of which is 'masterly', and the 'very thrilling'

Intermezzo- a 'most moving piece of writing'. In the second week's issue appears the

summation:

The work produced a great impression, and composers should note the form of this symphonic cantata,
which so admirably balances the interest between chorus, soloists, and orchestra. 165

The third part of the survey concludes with the judgement that the Festival 'has left us

one great work as a permanent addition to sacred art in the "Stabat" of Stanford, with

ample promise from our younger school of composers'.

Amongst the other musical journals, both the Musical Times and Musical Opinion

record that, by general consent, Stanford's work has been the most striking and

successful of the new festival works, for it shows 'unfettered' colour by a 'ripe

master', 166 and in it 'exalted aims are fmely achieved' .167

The Monthly Musical Record carries a more substantial account, but, since its tone

is rather similar to the Athenaeum report, it may also be from Shedlock's pen. 168

One further opinion from a musician of note is that of the then Organist of Leeds

Parish Church, Edward Bairstow, who comments at a much later date:

In parts [the Stabat Mater] contains some of the most beautiful and deeply moving music he ever wrote.
But it is not all on that high plane. 169

165
MN, 19 October 1907, 341-2; 26 October, 366; 2 November, 390-1. The author, signing himself
'A.E.H.', is probably Arthur Hervey.
166
MT, I November 1907,737-8.
167
MO, 1 November 1907, 91-2. Article by C.L. Graves.
168
MMR, 1 November 1907,242-3.
169
Francis Jackson, Blessed City, the Life and Works of Edward C. Bairstow, Sessions, York 1996 &
1997, 78. This book begins with Bairstow's autobiographical writings, left incomplete at his death, and
completed by Jackson. Bairstow's memory is somewhat at fault, for he attributes the Stabat Mater
premiere to the 1910 Leeds Festival, discussing it alongside the Songs ofthe Fleet and Vaughan
Williams's Sea Symphony.
 219

Of the other new choral works produced at Leeds in 1907, the one destined to enter

the long-term choral repertoire is Vaughan Williams's Toward the Unknown Region,

and reference has already been made to early praise for the piece. Table 12 reveals that,

while all critics have appreciative words for both the Vaughan Williams and Stanford

works, enthusiastic and wholehearted praise for the Stabat Mater is not quite matched

by some more muted comments on the Unknown Region. Stanford's is much the larger

score, however, and is the main focus of attention at this Festival. It is also heartening

to see how, at last, Stanford seems to have convinced all commentators of his heartfelt

involvement in every aspect of the creation of Stabat Mater, for here there is no hint of

any accusation of emotional coldness.

The very marked success of the Stabat Mater at Leeds was followed by three further

performances the following year: in London the Royal Choral Society performed it on

30 January; the Leeds Philharmonic Society followed on 25 March, and on 10

September it appeared at the Worcester Three Choirs Festival. In each case initial

critical opinion was reaffirmed. The Lincoln Festival next adopted the work in June

1910, after which there appear to be no further performances until a semi-private one by

the Bach Choir at the RCM in December 1913, where the Stabat Mater was given

alongside Parry's Ode to the Nativity and the Five Mystical Songs of Vaughan

Williams. At least three accounts of this concert question the unfortunate neglect of

Stanford's symphonic cantata by the nation's choral societies, 170 but The Times is the

only one to hazard a guess as to the cause:

The genuine beauty of Stanford's "Stabat Mater" is perhaps overlooked because of his way of
instinctively adopting a manner when he approaches a new theme (in this instance it is the manner of
Verdi), but on the other hand, Parry is frequently disregarded because of his constitutional incapacity for
speaking in any tone of voice other than his own. Vaughan Williams, belonging to a younger generation,
is more fotWPate, for at the moment his ma11ner, or his tone of voice, is something new, and people are
just beginning to realise that he has something to say.

170
T, 19 December 1913, 12; DTel, 20 December 1913, 8; MT, 1 February 1914, 118.
 Table 12
Press reception comparison of new works, Leeds Festival 1907

Stabat Mater (Leeds 10 October 1907)

No. ofreviews 18
Wholly laudatory 17
Laudatory with reservations 1
Critical 0
Comments on technique/cleverness 4
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 0

Stanford: Stabat Mater {Leeds 10 October 1907)

20
I C No. of review s
18
16
• Wholly laudatory
14
12 D Laudatory w ith
reservations
10
D Critical
8
6 • Comments on
4 techniqueJclev erness
D Comments on emotional
2
0 coldness/detachment
0

Comparison: Toward tile Unknown Region - Vaughan Williams (Leeds 10 Oct 1907)
No. ofreviews 14
Wholly laudatory 9
Laudatory with reservations 5
Critical 0
Comments on technique/cleverness 2
Comments on emotional coldness/detachment 0

Comparison: Toward the Unknown Region

-Vaughan Williams {Leeds 10 Oct 1907)

16
14 Ic No. of review s
14
• Wholly laudatory
12
10 0 Laudatory with
reservations
8
D Critical
6
• Comments on
4
techniqueJcleverness
2 o Comments on emotional
0 coldness/detachment
0
 221

The next recorded performances of the work seem to date from the 1920s, when the

Stabat Mater was presented several times, twice by the Westminster Choral Society,

then (after the composer's death) at Bradford, Gloucester and York. In a review of the

1924 Westminster performance, surprise and dismay is again expressed that such a

highly rated work 'should have been allowed to suffer long neglect' . 171 Perhaps,

however, the neglect of such a fine work for long periods has more to do with its

requirements in performance, especially as far as an orchestra is concerned. The nature

of the two purely orchestral movements in particular renders necessary a first class

orchestra, and it is quite possible that the expense of such would be beyond the means

of many smaller provincial choral societies. In this connection it is perhaps significant

that several of the recorded performances were given at major provincial festivals,

where greater financial resources could reasonably be expected.

There seems little doubt, however, that Stanford's Stabat Mater was the most highly

regarded of his three large-scale Latin choral works.

Another Funeral Ode and a 'Musical Joke '

It is somewhat difficult to understand Stanford's reasons for setting, fifty-six years after

the event, Tennyson's Funeral Ode for the Duke of Wellington. Surely he must have

realised that, despite his great admiration for the poet, many of the sentiments expressed

in this poem were now hopelessly out of date, and were not likely to arouse great

enthusiasm from an early twentieth-century audience.

After an initial run-through at a private RCM concert, the Ode on the Death of

Wellington received its first public performance at the 1908 Bristol Festival. This event,

like Cardiff, not being in the premier rank of provincial festivals, attracted less national

press coverage than Leeds, Birmingham or the Three Choirs. Of the accounts that exist,

171
DTel, 26 March 1924, 16.
 222

one or two do their best to sound enthusiastic about the Ode. Francis Barrett, for

example, in the Morning Post, suggests that the 'musical framework' provided by

Stanford may 'draw public attention again to a poem that is worthy of being revived'.

The music, he says, is 'broad, straightforward, and melodious' with many passages of

'impressive description'. He furthermore claims:

There is sufficient variety of treatment in the various sections to win the work general acceptance, for in
spite of its theme the music is never allowed to become merely sombre. 172

Rather surprisingly, in view of its previously rather erratic and patchy coverage of

provincial festivals, the Pall Mall Gazette comes up with the longest of all accounts of

the Wellington Ode. Beginning with comments upon the somewhat dated sentiments of

the poem, the article goes on to claim that there are, nevertheless, passages that have a

more permanent relevance, and these the composer has seized upon for effective music

and, in fact 'for the building up of a musical composition of real value'. As a result,

'the general atmosphere of the Ode is that of a dignified lament'. The critic regrets the

lack of 'any great height of lyrical expression', yet admits that there are plenty of

'dramatic qualities' in the work. Describing the Ode in considerable detail, the article

draws attention to many praiseworthy features, describing it as 'altogether . . . a

powerful work'. There are weaknesses, however, including some not very

distinguished thematic material. 173

Amongst the shorter reviews, the Monthly Musical Record finds 'fine passages' in

the Ode, which is marked, as ever, by 'ripe musicianship'. 174 The Musical Opinion

states that the opening of the work paints a 'vivid picture' of Wellington's funeral, but

that this interest is not maintained through the rest of the piece. 175 Both the Musical

Times and the Athenaeum refer to the outdated sentiments of the poem. MT claims,

172
MP, 15 October 1908,5.
173
PMG, 15 October 1908,6.
174
MMR, 1 November 1908, 245-6.
175
MO, 1 November 1908, 87-8.
 223

however, that 'Stanford has certainly made the most of the opportunities afforded by the
176
words, in clothing them with music that strikingly reflects the character ofthe poem'.

Shedlock, in the arts journal, says that, although the sterling qualities of Wellington,

Tennyson and Stanford cannot be denied, the subject of the Ode 'is today, perhaps,

hardly calculated to inspire a composer'. He then amplifies his comments as follows:

Sir Charles's music for the most part is objective; what there is emotional in the poem has long since
ceased to touch the hearts of men. An ordinary composer would have failed utterly; Sir Charles, by his
skill and musicianship, has managed to colour the words, and at the last, when opportunity presented
itself, to intensifY them. 177

It is, however, an article by Edward Baughan in the Daily News which perhaps sums

up the situation most succinctly. Not himself present at the particular concert

containing the Wellington Ode, he writes:

It was difficult to gather from the newspapers whether ... Stanford's "Ode on the Death of Wellington"
was a work of veritable inspiration or only a picturesque and clever piece of music-making. The critic
visiting a musical festival is inclined to find some good reason for attending it, and so it often comes
about that festival criticism is too laudatory. I have endeavoured to discover the real opinions of amateurs
and critics whose judgement I respect, and their opinions I find are by no means too enthusiastic. 178

The comment here concerning the general nature of festival criticism is most

interesting, since it confirms what many a thoughtful reader must surely suspect.

Following the only subsequent recorded performance of the Ode- at the 1910 Leeds

Festival - critical comment reveals more or less the same opinions as hitherto. The

Yorkshire Post summarises the work as 'impressive', 179 while the Leeds Mercury is a

little more forthcoming:

... the musical effect is dignified and austere, with many passages of singular beauty, but there is rather
too much of the same kind of treatment, and the hearer becomes conscious of a certain kind of
monotony. 180

The Times, recognising that such an 'occasional' piece does not always contain the

greatest music, reckons nevertheless that 'the music must stand higher among

176
MT, 1 November 1908, 725-6.
177
Ath, 17 October 1908,483.
178
DN, 17 October 1908,4.
179
YP, 15 October 1910,7.
180
LM, 15 October 1910,3.
 224

181
Stanford's works than the poem does among Tennyson's', and the Daily News

dismisses the piece with the comment:

182
[The Wellington Ode] was neither Sir Chas. Stanford at his best nor was it an attractive festival piece.

The hint of despair in this view was in all probability heightened by the fact that the

somewhat lugubrious Ode followed directly after an apparently bracing performance of

the Enigma Variations.

It seems unsurprising that such a work as the Wellington Ode should have had such

a short life, for it was certainly an anachronism from the outset, and the music-loving

public had a wealth of more modem things to engage their attentions.

Nor was Stanford's next choral project destined to have any prolonged success. The

Ode to Discord, subtitled 'A Chimerical Bombination in Four Bursts' sets a satirical

text by his friend Charles Graves. In the poem, Graves lambasts modem trends in

musical composition, including a clever distortion of Milton's 'Hence, Loathed

Melancholy' to 'Hence, Loathed Melody'. Such a text clearly appealed to Stanford,

whose abhorrence of some of the methods employed in the compositions of Strauss,

Debussy and others encouraged him to lampoon his pet hates in the form of a cantata

for soprano and baritone soloists, chorus and orchestra. News of the work caused a

flurry of interest in the press ahead of its first performance in Queen's Hall on 9 June

1909, but critical opinion following the concert varied considerably according to the

respective sympathies of the writers.

As might be predicted, one of the longest and most appreciative accounts comes

from Fuller Maitland, who writes in The Times :

A good deal of the [Ode] ... proceeds from the kind of high spirits that most of us associate with
schooldays; but in the music ... there are many hits that are sure to reach their mark .... The only fault,
indeed, that can be found with the music is that it has no touch of the exaggemtion which parody requires;
it would in truth be scarcely possible to surpass some modern compositions in tJ:ti~ respect, and the
composer must regretfully have given up in the attempt. ... It is perfectly clear that such ajeu d'esprit
could give offence to no reasonable being; it is also very probable that it will help the cause of what is

181
T, 15 October 1910, 10.
182
DN, 15 October 1910, 5.
 225

best in the new music by clearing away much of the cant that is habitually talked about it. A few of the
public and a good many critics are afraid to admit that they fmd the new music ugly, for fear of being
some day held up to derision as we now hold up to derision those who opposed Wagner in the seventies;
to others, unable to receive a musical impression, the new music is no more puzzling than the old; and a
183
third class, eager to be in the van of movement, rush in without a notion of their direction.

Here, clearly, a fellow reactionary firmly nails his colours to the mast.

The Daily Telegraph critic (by this time either Robin Legge or Ernest Kuhe) is less

convinced of the work's effectiveness, for while admitting that 'the travesty of the

music of the important composers today is obvious', he claims that 'the joke is very

heavy-handed, even to ponderousness'. He reckons also that it is too long, for 'brevity

is the soul of wit'. If, as presumed, the purpose of the Ode is to 'prick the modem

music bubble', as with a similar attempt to do so twenty years before with Wagner's

music, 'the effect of the latest of these efforts to stem the tide of modernity will be just

as powerful as that of its predecessor, no more, no less' . 184

Edward Baughan also feels that, although only intended as a light-hearted work, 'its

satire might have cut deeper if the composer had written a work in which the spirit and

technique of modem music were more completely and subtly parodied'. Subtlety is

lacking - and Bernard Shaw alone has discovered the 'secret of subtle clowning'. The

humour is both mild and obvious: 'For half the time ... it is amusing enough, but the

joke is not developed, and does not whip modem music very energetically'. In order to

pillory Strauss and other modems 'a composer must have a modem technique' -and

here Stanford has not been successful. Baughan even wistfully hopes that, for the

further amusement of audiences, 'some of the modem men will satirise the imitation

Brahms and Verdi of some of our prominent composers'. 185

183
T, IOJune 1909,12.
184
DTel, lO June 1909, 6.
185
DN, 10 June 1909,7.
 226

Richard Streatfeild is another who fmds that, although Stanford's music is 'full of

clever touches' the parody 'fell a little flat'. Nevertheless, he says, 'modem music is as

.
a ruIe so mtense 1y senous
. . we Icome ' . 186
a matter that any ray o f humour ts

The Pall Mall Gazette, in a longer article (perhaps by the paper's new critic,

Nicholas Gatty) is clearly written by someone whose sympathies are in tune with

contemporary musical developments, and sees Stanford's Ode as a 'rather poor' joke.

He continues his argument thus:

If any one thinks that it is an easy matter to write "modem" music this experiment will show him he is
wrong, for no one doubts Sir Charles Stanford's ability, and if he cannot do it who can, except those
whose expression can only be made through the "modem" means. We hold no particular brief for any
special means; let every man who has ideas set them out as he thinks fit; his sincerity, if it exists, will
come through, provided his technique is equal to the occasion. 187

By contrast Shedlock, in the Athenaeum, praises the skill, orchestration and humour

of the work, and also 'the judgement shown in not over-dotting the i 's or crossing the

t 's'. Assuming that the piece is largely a satire on the music of Strauss and Debussy, he

does, however, question the wisdom of accentuating 'some ofwhat we may perhaps call

weak points in men whose gifts are great'. 188

At this first, and a few subsequent performances of the Ode, 189 audience reaction

was often, apparently, one of great amusement, though ability to grasp all the intended

parodies would clearly depend upon the musical erudition of individuals: those who

could easily recognise Schubert's An die Musik might not identify Strauss's Ein

Heiden/eben. One audience, at Norwich, was clearly perplexed, however, not knowing

whether to take the music seriously or not. 190

As was the case with the Wellington Ode, such an attempt at musical parody was

inevitably destined for a short-lived popular appeal, and within a couple of years it was

186
DGr, 10 June 1909,7.
187
PMG, 10 June 1909, 3.
188
Ath, 12 June 1909,709-10.
189
The Ode to Discord was subsequently performed in Eastboume (7 October 1909), Brighton (February
191 0), Norwich (28 April 191 0), and Liverpool (17 January 1911 ).
190
MN, 7 May 1910, 510.
 227

forgotten. In Jeremy Dibble's words: 'it was quickly ignored as the reactionary cry of a

composer who refused to move with the times'. Even the composer's son, Guy,

questioned the purpose of a revival ofthe work in 1952: 'why dig up the Ode to Discord

which has long since been of no particular interest and spend so much time and money
191
when the same could have been so much more worthwhile on something else' .

A Choral Overture and some church music

Possibly of more lasting interest than either of the odes just discussed is a shorter

'Choral Overture' written to celebrate the joint centenaries of the death of Haydn and

the birth of Tennyson in 1809. Entitled Ave atque Vale, incorporating the 'Emperor's

Hymn', and containing the words (from Ecclesiasticus) 'Let us now praise famous men

... such as sought out musical tunes and set forth verses in writing', the work was first

performed by the Bach Choir under the composer's direction on 2 March 1909. The

occasion was, however, a rather unfortunate one for sympathetic and considered

appraisal of the music, for Stanford's work came at the end of an over-long concert

(starting after ten o'clock) on an extremely cold evening with a raging snow-storm

outside. Streatfeild indeed, in his Daily Graphic account, calls the concert a 'thoroughly

seasonable affair':

No one who sat near one of the doors of Queen's Hall could fail to appreciate the realism of Bach's
description of icy blasts and blustering breezes in his "Aeolus" cantata, while Sir Charles Stanford's
highly picturesque setting of the famous words from Eccelsiasticus: "He maketh the snow to fall apace,
and the cold north wind to blow," sent a sympathetic shiver down the backbones of those who knew that a
first class blizzard was waiting for them outside. 192

Critical opinion of the work is generally somewhat lukewarm, though all reports

express admiration for the way in which the 'Austrian Hymn' is worked into the texture,

and for Stanford's usual skill in vocal and orchestral writing. The Pall Mall Gazette

reckons the Choral Overture 'scarcely representative' of the composer's gifts, but

191
Dibble, Stanford, 382.
192
DGr, 3 March 1909, 7.
 228

singles out the setting of the line 'Their bodies are buried in peace' as 'a moment where

real feeling was achieved' 193 - a view shared by the Athenaeum, which notes 'true

pathos ' m
. the passage. 194 The Daily Chronicle notes 'some bright and effective

passages', but judges that 'the composition as a whole is not up to the usual level of Sir

Charles's works', 195 while The Times finds the first choral section 'hastily thought out

and rather thin in expression', but discerns in the piece as a whole 'a nobility of purpose

... which cannot fail to make its mark' . 196 Only the Daily Telegraph and the Musical

Times are wholly complimentary, the former finding the work 'a ... pleasant-sounding,

short cantata, ... effective and frankly melodious'; 197 the latter describing it as 'Stanford

in his happiest vein', and possessing 'qualities that should ensure frequent

performance'. 198

After just two further performances within the next three months, however, the

Choral Overture seems to have been shelved until some isolated revivals in the early

1920s. 199 Perhaps Ave atque Vale, like the Wellington Ode, was too much linked to a

specific event to retain long-term currency, although it may be a more viable subject for

resurrection.

During this first decade of the new century Stanford had begun once again to

produce music for the Anglican liturgy, most of it unsolicited. In several cases,

however, the lack of publishers' advertisements and of any kind of review, however

brief, makes exact dating of composition, and even of publication, difficult. A list of

such works published between the turrl of the century and about 1907 includes the

service settings in G and on Gregorian tones, the anthem Arise, shine, and the three

193
PMG, 3 March 1909, 5.
194
Ath, 6 March 1909, 299.
195
DChr, 3 March 1909, I.
196
T, 3 March 1909, II.
197
DTe/, 4 March 1909, 7.
198
MT, I April 1909, 257.
199
Ave atque Vale was sung at the Sons of Clergy Festival in St Paul's Cathedral on 12 May 1909, and
by CUMS on II June, in both cases with some favourable critical comment.
 229

Latin motets. Although it is known that the three motets were composed much earlier

(for Trinity College, Cambridge), neither they nor the other pieces appear to have

received any attention whatsoever in the main-stream arts or musical journals?00 It is

therefore only from indications of usage that the popularity of these works can be

ascertained, and in the longer-term only the Service in G and the Three Latin Motets

have survived.

Another group of church pieces dating from the end of the decade did, however,

receive some slight attention from the press, the most significant being the Service in C,

whose publication was reviewed briefly in Musical Opinion and more fully in Musical

News. In MO, 'Ampersand' judges the new service a 'worthy companion' to 'the

famous Stanford in B flat, perhaps one of the most universally admired services of

modern times', and continues:

To place the new comer alongside its forerunner in point of all round merit (as we do) is very high praise
indeed.Z 01

The MN is similarly enthusiastic:

Sir Charles has here penned music which is well worthy of the attention of choirmasters who have
capable choirs under their direction. Modem in spirit and in diction, it is nevertheless by its sincerity and
faithfulness to the words well worthy of a permanent place in the repertoire of the Anglican Church ....
The Te Deum is particularly good. 202 '

And achieve such a permanent place it did very quickly, attaining, and retaining to this

day, alongside the B flat Service, a pre-eminent position in the Anglican choral

repertoire. 203

200
The sole exception seems to be an advertisement for Arise, shine (Houghton/Stainer & Bell) in MO, 1
November 1905, 88.
201
MO, I September 1909, 861.
202
MN, 21 May 1910, 558.
203
Edward Bairstow was among many musicians who regarded the Service inC as Stanford's best. In
Greene's biography he recounts also an occasion when, after the Great War, the composer was at York on
a Sunday morning and, invited to select any of his service settings to be sung by the Minster choir, chose
the C major, for 'he had never heard it!'. See Greene, Stanford, 220-1.
 230

A second set ofSea Songs and resignation from Leeds

For his next work involving chorus and orchestra Stanford selected another five poems

by Henry Newbolt, setting them, as before, with baritone solo, this time under the title

Songs of the Fleet. They were originally intended for a Jubilee Congress of Naval

Architects in July 191 0, but the death of King Edward VII resulted in the postponement

of the event, and Stanford's songs were instead given their first hearing at the Leeds

Festival in October, with Plunket Greene singing the solo part. Comparison with the

Songs of the Sea was inevitable, and, as can often be the case with sequels, the new set

of songs, although successful, made less of an impact upon the general listening public.

This was perhaps due to their generally somewhat less exuberant manner, and the fact

that two lively songs are framed by three slow ones - the exact reverse of the earlier set.

These differences are highlighted in virtually all reviews of the first performance of

Songs of the Fleet. Thompson, in the Yorkshire Post, judges that the new songs 'while

not suffering the fatality which attends most sequels, can hardly be regarded as any

advance upon them, though likely to become at least equally popular' ?04 He

particularly admires two of the quieter songs- 'The Middle Watch' and 'Fare Well'-

the latter attaining 'a high degree of poetical feeling' (a sentiment echoed by several

other critics), but feels that the 'bright and breezy sea-songs'- 'Song of the Sou-wester'

and 'The Little Admiral' -are somewhat marred by an excess of percussion (surely a

most unusual failing for Stanford). The Leeds Mercury expresses a similar view, rating

the new songs as not quite the equal of their predecessors, lacking 'something of the old

vitality and stimulating spirit'. The critic agrees in judging 'Fare Well' the best of the

set, creating 'a moving impression', though he regards 'The Middle Watch' as rather

204
YP, 14 October 1910,7.
 231

dull, and claims that 'there is not much in the "Little Admiral" except rapid patter and a

belligerent spirit' .205

The Times is more positive, describing the new songs as 'remarkably imaginative',

and finding features to praise in each individual number, 206 but the Daily Telegraph

agrees with the Yorkshire papers in reckoning them 'unlikely to supplant in popular

esteem the Sea Songs':

... it cannot be denied that, in the case of Sir Charles Stanford's Fleet Songs, he has not shown by any
means the same amount of genuine inspiration that was to be noticed in the Sea Songs ... We look in vain
for another "Old Superb," or "Drake's Drum," and instead find five songs of merit, of course, but of no
commanding interest. 207

The writer (presumably Robin Legge) goes on, however, to praise the 'genuinely poetic

feeling' of 'The Middle Watch' and 'Fare Well', as well as making a plea for the

inclusion of more works of a similarly lighter nature in festival programmes 'as a

welcome relief after much strenuous music'.

In one of the fuller reports, the critic of the Morning Posr 08 points to the differences

between the two sets of songs, but in a positive and more perceptive manner:

The new set [i.e. Songs of the Fleet] is entirely different in character from the "Songs of the Sea," ...
inasmuch as their tone is of greater seriousness, with much more diffuseness in musical style, a greater
tendency to employ the Chorus, and something less of spontaneity. All this is no detriment to the value
of the songs, since the composer's highly-cultivated musicianship is present in all of them, while some-
the last in particular - touch a very true note of pathos. 209

Of the performance, most critics agreed that the Songs of the Fleet were well

received, though the LM noted that 'there was nothing like the scene that followed the

rendering of [the Songs of the Sea] six years ago', and some papers commented that

Plunket Greene was not at his best. 210

205
LM, 14 October 1910, 7.
206
T, 14 October 1910, 10.
207
DTel, 15 October-1910, 15.
208
At this date either J.H. Dickens or Willam McNaught.
209
MP, 14 October 1910,3.
210
A fact corroborated by Bairstow, who said that 'he sang them very badly compared with the
rehearsal'. See Jackson, Blessed City, 78.
 232

It seems that these new songs grew in public estimation, for after their first London

performance211 various papers reported 'very great enthusiasm',212 'loud plaudits from

the delighted audience', and an 'unwontedly enthusiastic' reception.Z 13

The Songs of the Fleet soon became almost as popular as their precursors, and a

huge number of performances can be traced during the remaining years of the

composer's life and beyond. Their popularity with choirs is fully understandable, for

while less extrovert than Songs of the Sea they have a more varied character and make

far fuller use of the chorus - which, from the start was a mixed one, appealing to female

as well as male singers.

There seems little doubt that the choral works produced by Stanford during these

years of his full maturity include some of his very finest creations. The large-scale

Latin pieces won widespread admiration, together with a critical acknowledgement of

greater emotional depth; an Irish choral ballad (Crohoore) gained a popularity with

English choirs beyond that which might have been expected for a piece full of

idiosyncratic dialect; the two sets of sea songs rapidly endeared themselves to singers

everywhere, supplying long-sought sequels to The Revenge; and a resurgence in

Stanford's attention to music for the Anglican church produced miniature masterpieces

such as the Service in C and the Coronation Gloria.

Stanford resigned his conductorship ofthe Leeds Philharmonic Society in 1909, and

when in 1910 the Leeds Festival committee indicated to him that they wished to bring

in, from the 1913 Festival, other conductors for some of the orchestral concerts, he

tendered his resignation as Festival conductor as from the end of the 1910 Festival,

being unwilling to share the limelight with other musicians. These two resignations

211
By the London Choral Society in the Queen's Hall, 8 December 1910.
212
MN, 17 December 1910,551.
213
MT, 1 February 1911, 116.
 233

mark the end of an important and productive period in Stanford's career, and provide

another convenient demarkation point in this study of his choral music.

 234

Chapter Five

Stanford's Choral Music and the Press III:

Years of Increasing Neglect, 1911-1924

During the last fourteen years of his life Stanford remained as productive a composer as

ever, though with a slight decrease in his output of choral music during the war years.

His concentration, for the most part, on smaller-scale choral pieces in the shape of part-

songs and church music was due to force of circumstances: the cessation of all

provincial musical festivals at the beginning of the 1914-18 War, the consequently

fewer opportunities for the performance of large-scale works (doubtless made fewer still

by the absence of choral singers and orchestral players on combative duties), and the

understandable reticence of publishing houses to incur the expense of printing lengthy

choral works which would not, for the time being, sell.

The last occasion on which the living Stanford had his music performed on an

occasion of national significance was the 1911 Coronation, when his Gloria in Excelsis

was well received, 1 though with this piece and also the motet Ye holy angels bright, first

performed at Gloucester two years later, the composer's technical mastery is once again

at the forefront of critical comment.

Despite the demise of the provincial musical festivals and the reduction in the

numbers of other choral concerts during the war years, Stanford's most popular choral

works continued to receive performances with some degree of regularity. Times were

changing, however, and after the war larger new choral works in a non-progressive

idiom were not taken up as eagerly as hitherto: although the composer's last choral

ballad - Merlin and the Gleam (1919) - was as skilfully written as any of his earlier

works of this nature, it achieved, as far as can be ascertained, only a couple of

1
The inclusion of this piece again in the 1937 Coronation Service gives an indication of continuing
regard for the composer, at least in the field of church music, thirteen years after his death.
 235

performances. The Latin Magnificat ( 1918) was published but ignored by choirs, the

large-scale Via Victrix Mass (also 1919) suffered very nearly the same fate, only the

Gloria receiving a single performance, and three further full settings of the Mass were

not even published. The development of new musical idioms amongst both foreign and

British composers (many of the latter his former pupils) bewildered and saddened

Stanford, who felt increasingly outdated and neglected. In the spheres of secular part-

song, unison choral song, and music for the Anglican church, however, taste was more

conservative, and Stanford continued to produce successful and sought-after music for

these markets right up to the end of his life. Posthumous tributes to the composer made

much of his supreme musicianship and absolute technical mastery, conceding also that,

in at least a certain proportion of his huge compositional output, he had achieved true

greatness.

Never agam, after his departure from Leeds, did Stanford hold any regular

conductorship, apart from that of training and conducting the RCM orchestra. Nor did

he receive any further Festival commissions, and the only recorded performance of a

newly written work after 1910 at a major musical festival was at Gloucester in 1913,

when the first (and most substantial) of his set of English motets, Op.135 - Ye Holy

Angels Bright- was included in a mixed choral concert.

This apparent sidelining of a major English composer by the committees of musical

festivals is, perhaps, not as deliberate as it may seem, for the intervention of the First

World War saw the cessation of all the major festivals from 1914, many (including

Birmingham and, on a regular basis, Leeds) never being resumed. It is interesting to

note, however, that Stanford contributed no new work to the Birmingham Festivals after

the Requiem in 1897, although other, earlier pieces were performed in later Festivals. 2

It would appear that, from 1900 onwards, the slightly younger Elgar became the most

2
The Voyage of Mae/dune appeared at the 1903 Birmingham Festival, and The Revenge in 1906.
 236

favoured provider of new works for Birmingham} closely followed by the much

younger Granville Bantock. 4 Perhaps of some significance is the fact that both

composers had personal connections with the city - Elgar as Peyton Professor of Music

at the University from 1905 to 1908, Bantock as principal of the Birmingham School of

Music from 1900, and later succeeding Elgar in the University Professorship.

After 1910, therefore, with less incentive to write large-scale choral works, Stanford

concentrated to a large extent upon smaller forms such as the part-song and the anthem,

producing a steady stream of such works during the remaining years of his life. Before

the onset of the Great War, however, there was to be one further great national event

engaging the creative talents of several of the nation's leading composers: the

Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary in June 1911.

The Coronation Gloria

Presumably the wiser for his earlier faux pas at the previous coronation, Frederick

Bridge made sure that on this occasion Stanford was included amongst the musical

contributors to the Coronation Service music from the outset. Stanford's contribution-

a setting of the Gloria in excelsis - was, in fact, one of the two most substantial newly

written pieces, the other being aTe Deum by Parry.

To satisfy keen public interest, both the Musical Times and Musical News published

lists of the Coronation Service music in early April, 5 and from these we learn that there

were in total five newly composed choral pieces. 6 By late May the service book

containing all the music had been issued by Novello, enabling some press comment on

3
Elgar provided new works for each Festival apart from 1909: The Dream ofGerontius (1900); The
Apostles (1903); The Kingdom (1906) and The Music Makers (1912).
4
Bantock's Omar Khayyain was fifst performed, in separate parts, at the 1906 and 1909 Birmingham
Festivals, andFifine at the Fair in 1912.
5
MT, 1 April1911, 246; MN, 1 April1911, 305.
6
In addition to the contributions of Stanford and Parry (who was also represented by I was glad, with
revised introduction), the other new works were by Bridge (Homage Anthem -Rejoice in the Lord, 0 ye
righteous), Elgar (Offertorium- 0 hearken thou) and Alcock (Sanctus).
 237

its content. Musical News devotes several lines to extolling the virtues of Parry's Te

Deum, but also describes Stanford's Gloria briefly as 'a fme, dignified composition,

well worthy the reputation of its distinguished composer' which, with the orchestra

'should be productive of a most impressive effect'. 7 The Musical Times is somewhat

more expansive:

In his setting of the 'Gloria in Excelsis,' (in B flat) Sir Charles Stanford again shows that consummate
mastery of detail and technique which characterizes all his church music. In the thematic material, no less
than in the working out, he has produced a work which is not only entirely worthy of the occasion which
called it forth, but which may well rank with his best achievements ofthe same character. 8

The irresistible urge of critics, time and time again, to comment upon Stanford's

impeccable technique, seen once again in this MT comment, is found in other references

to the Coronation Gloria. The Monthly Musical Record, in a preview of the Coronation

music, says of it:

The music, indeed, displays throughout workmanship which helps to intensify the words, yet without any
obvious parade; the resultant effect is felt without the means being unduly in evidence. 9

While comment in the Athenaeum following the actual Service reflects a similar

sentiment:

Though cleverly written, the music is never dry. 10

Some critics, by contrast, are unreserved in their praise for the piece. The Times, for

example, describes it (following a full choir rehearsal) as 'a vigorous piece of manly

writing', II adding, after the Service itself, the appellation 'noble' .I 2 It is tempting,

indeed, to speculate whether these comments were not amongst the last from Fuller

Maitland's pen before his retirement from the paper. If so, they were comments formed

from a chorister's perspective, for he is listed in a lengthy Musical Times article as

7
MN, 27 May 1911,522.
8
MT, I June 1911,382.
9
MMR, I June 1911, title page.
10
Ath, I July 1911,23.
11
T, 17 June 1911, 11-12.
12
T, 23 June 1911, 15.
 238

amongst the basses in the Coronation Choir. 13 This article also speaks of Stanford's

Gloria in complimentary terms (though again referring to technique!):

The Gloria was given in a new setting in B flat by Sir Charles Stanford, who brought to the work his
ripest experience and command of modern harmony. The setting is an elaborate one, and it displays
much original thought and fine treatment. 14

After the Coronation Stanford lost no time in adding other movements to the Gloria

to form a complete Festal Communion Service in B flat, and the Musical Opinion

records its publication (in the composer's own arrangement for choir and organ) by

Stainer and Bell. 15

One other press comment shortly after the Coronation is of particular interest: in its

July issue, the Monthly Musical Record refers to the fact that Stanford's Te Deum in B

flat (Op.IO) was used as one of two 'chief musical items' at 'Special Coronation

Services held up and down the country' - giving further evidence of the continuing

popularity of this piece, and its frequent use on significant national or local occasions of

thanksgiving. 16

Further sets ofpartsongs and some anthems

From around 1908 onwards Stanford returned to the part-song, publishing several sets

during the next four or five years. In some cases the absence of press reviews makes it

difficult to ascertain precise dates of publication, though references to performances of

individual songs can give some indication of their popularity. Just as such performance

records point to the fact that the most popular of all the earlier Elizabethan Pastorals

were undoubtedly Corydon arise and Diaphenia (both from the first set, Op.49), it

becomes similarly clear that Heraclitus became the 'hit' number from the Four

13
MT, I July 1911,433-7.
14
Ibid.
15
MO, 1 October 1911,65 notes the publication in this form of Stanford's 'stately setting' of the Gloria,
while the complete Festal Communion Service is noted in MO, 1 May 1912, 595.
16
MMR, 1 July 1911, 185. The other work referred to is Handel's Zadok the Priest.
 239

Partsongs, Op.ll 0 (c.1908), while none of the Three Partsongs, Op.lll seem to have

won much public attention.

As mentioned in an earlier chapter, 17 the sheer quantity of choral music produced

each month from English publishers during the later Victorian and Edwardian periods

was so great that the task of reviewing every item would have been quite beyond the

time and space constraints of any journal or critic. It was therefore inevitable, not only

that many pieces never received so much as a mention in the press, but that numerous

others were given no more than the briefest glance. Two musical journals which

attempted to cover a wide selection of new music in each issue - Musical Opinion and

Musical News - had of necessity to limit comment, in most cases, to a sentence or two

on any but the longest works, resulting all too often in comments which say little or

nothing of true value. A typical example of this type of treatment may be found in

Musical News for 11 May 1912 - shown in full as Illustration 8 - where twenty-nine

new publications are dealt with in the course of slightly less than one full page.

Although a few of the comments on this page are of some value, Stanford's Easter

anthem Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem is dealt with in a single sentence as 'A vigorous

anthem-setting of this well-known hymn', and the Coronation Gloria is acknowledged

with a nod to previous accounts of its 'varied beauties'. Perhaps, however, in this

instance the (anonymous) reviewer was assuming the general acceptance of this

composer's high reputation for technical excellence. Amongst the smaller choral works

of Stanford's middle years that do not appear to have received any press attention at all

following publication are the third set of Elizabethan Pastorals, Op.67 (1897), the

Three Latin Motets, Op.38 (published 1905), the motet 0 living will (1908), the Three

Partsongs, Op.lll (1908), and the six Hymn-anthems designed to follow the Bible

Songs, Op.ll3 (1909-10).

17
See chapter 3, 91.
 :446 .ilfUJ S FC A L ·. · iN E W S.
. ..:. ·---':'.:--

:_He".iesu-.;::oruy, (a;:; the ':saJun)f'liis OWJ! health' and that ·• 0 l.Jwd. .....,. -God; .....SSe. · -Antilem. B.y .OZ.lando A. Ma.nslield.
', oi ·liis 'faniily, a little compi§tency which will -enable him . (Sta'lner .ami BeJ4 A well-written- parish chun:h iuU .antbe_m for
Susda., or gene<al :use.
to work 'B.t ease. lie . wants; 'firSt, . t0 -~ 'the two last Whit Te Dn;,_ Jubilate, and M-ognift-t. By J. E. Adkin..
movements· of "Roaian de 1a Mamie,~' then he ·contem- (Stainer and -Bell..) The:se are written for faur-l!"rt treble bar-
pla~ the possibility of ~~ a
work for the -~ many. We must take e¥CePtion to the footnnte, which lzulicates
msp1.red by Dante, 'Rabelais, or Edgar Poe; ~ho are .J:Us t1urt the first .and last can be sung in two parts, 1f deleted parts
favourite -authors. · are filled · in on the ai-gan. Vpeal tone and organ tone i!o not
. Suclds the"historj of Fanelli. Has it not the air o_f a coalesce to t)le emm:· of removing 'the eJfects oi ban fourths.
· marvellous"wnik of .fiction'? -lt has -fhe one fault of bemg Each department of ·tone must 'be complete in itself. As written .
.a faCt~. ;·!. ·· · · .- - in four parts, these settings are very beautiful, and shoUld 'be in
the ~~· of f!'fp:f 'CI!thedral 'for use 'Wbeo t!>e meo .are -..If duty.
G~ .. s_,;u en :X fUit: ·:By W. Cl"'lidtsbank. .For
· "10-J>ni,_.. ., ·, A.lt'.T.B. :(Stainer -and BeU.) This setting "for men's lfQices :is
.
·. · an.~v ...w.,.
AubGM.·, -~ the organ ... .I!y Bemardjohnson. (Stsiner .;,.d
-e::r.clillent, while :the ~ -~ ~ witt! eJ[ective
lindependesrt.parts. l.ate=;ting and·deiightful to both organist_ and'
Bell.) ·A sm._i,ghtfor'!'tBI'Ii -wo,rk, containing-~ beauili~ melodies choirmastar..1 • : . :
-applied to piquant accompBI\Uilent. . · God u .u-,d lbe World Js an ~ by Beary G. Ler
.hoeusio...U MtJ~c'h. For the -organ•. By Edward A. Suttnn. (Stsiner aud'BeD), shan and full The chro~tiJ:.m~ ~
.{Weekes ana
CQ.) •. Without pre';"-"ili~ to bit UJ?-"!"'ventional, this it quite distinct from the well-lmown' earl! P51ettiogs of these
!S ao eXtremely bngllt aod melodious man:h,-avouling the common- words. • ·.
place, anil likely to tie muCh appreciated "b;r. caag-regatioos who And God shall mi~e 4'WIJ1 till ~$ ~ ao mthem by Edwin H.
like ugbt music. lt is also ·published as -a P.limo SDlo,- · Lemare. '(Stairier and Bell.} ·This should prore very eJfectiye.
Through the siony "'idni_ght dim. Anthem. Wor-ds by Stop- The music ls''inspired by dev~t feeliog. Theie Is, It .must, be
'fori! A. 'Brooke.. Music by 'Arthur·G. 'Bennett. (Stsiner aod ;Bell.) pointeil alit, a: great jumble of words in the sectioo • no mor-e
A.. 'bflglit and 'tllelodinus ~Christmas &Dthem, well written, and death, • page "16, lfour cliBerent· 9J=SSiona being :used slmul-
breatlring 'the spirit oaf Noel. It ·mntalns several themes, all of
,them •being ·effective, one -not the ·less so beCause it Fe&embles to -a
-startling degree the Boatswain's Mate!s Soog in "Pinafo"' "I Mr.
•Bennett should guard against one thing which appears in most
taneously ....Ith Same, or mucl!. tbe same rhythm•. _It Is, however,
a ootable work of art.
¥• Choirs..,,
.
NC111 jenualam. A vigorous anth=-tting of (
• well-known hymn by Charles V, Stanford. (Stainer and
I
of tiis .Works. If his compositioos are written to sell, simple ones B.ell..) . . · .
like these shoula not 'have too ~rnste ao accompapimill!t. Choirs
of modest 'pretensions who could render this work quite easily
Gloria in ~- Set to music for the Coronation of 19 u
ily Char-les V., Staoford. (Stainer .and Ben.) The varied beauties
1! .
migb~ '!ina ir difficult to )<eep t'bemseloies away fro~t~ t!Je inde- of this. noble work have ·been already so often pointed out ·in
pendeitt !'TIIaD -part. _• · reports of the Cnrooation that it would _be a wo~ of ~ga- .
If , •. r.n.. me. Anthem. Musu: by Arth= c. ·B.ennett. tiC)D 'tn ao so now. .
(Stainer <md •Bell:) ·A soft anthem with a true devotional ring S=•· Lord, ond he..,. 11$, lntroiL lly C. Stott. (Stainer and
-about •it. BeU.) This is intended for unaccompaoied.·singing. It possesses
To .., Skylar1<. BY. T. 'E. 'Pearson. . (Wood and Sons, Hadden- clrlgiual points, ..and some ~ouot of modern feeling is ·infused
~eld and Bredford.) An agreeable and interestilll( setting-for solo into the harmonies.
violin, -sopraoo -solo, chorus; and orchestra of Sheller's inspired mmil7.
Sing ..,;. By John E. West. (Stsiner and Bell..) ln
-poem. To-the solo violinists is entrusted the blrd's outpourings of this anthem:the'ccmposer R'Veals the practised ha!l«!. In ~ying out
oong, 'the choruses are well written. for the voices, an<l the soloist cl!.urch mnsic ..to .the 'best advantage fer an concerned. .
has a .gratefu!.part. · ... · · • l'wo $'/wrt .Anfhemi, '" lntraiu. (No. gs, ChurCh Choir
· The .·contimudion Tutor, 'by Agnes Johnston (Paterson) IS Library.) 'By 'Orlando A. Mansfield. (Stainer and Bell.)· Vt;ry
Part J of ~The Child Musician;" and contains many useful hints suitable for the .J!UlPOSe intended, and Will -~ enjoyecj by parish
to the in~enced teaCher as ~I as brightly gi-ven instructions choir& ..
to·the P.UJiil.· It is a ·tntor·that-sbould make lor thoroughness. T~ Deum in G.' 'By A. ·p, Alderson. (stainer aoif 'Bell.) A
. Slut .,,.. '" Maid of Artluz •G.tJee. By Rex de ~Rego. 'beautiful, chaSte 'setting,· ~ •of a univerSity .examlner~ We
(Geo. ShrimptDn and Sons.) An unusually fine song, i!,l wlricli ·~~,: wonder, 'however, whether be -wouid'permlt candldates'fpr•degrees
leading •motive is treated with great variety, culmina:ting ill a to onnt -the -third ID the .<:Om.DlD!l·cbonl, as 'he has done twice .In
most -eJfective clima:. If • Tristan • had never been ·written, -i,t is one har (page 6, Uoe 2, first!har)~ · · · · · ·
pOssible 'this song iuight never have .seen the light, -oevertheless its B..udi<lw in G. By lA. .1!. Alderson. (St;Uner 3l!d .Bel!.) A
non-existence :would have been .a distinct .toss. ~~y -thougbt-?ut. &el:ti.tll{·. · For .mstance, there is. a .welcnme
· "Nunery R'hymu, for S.A. T ..B. Words b_y "E, C. Cumberhab:h. ~~~ from DlUlOI' to ·maJor at the words, "-Day $pFUig from on
'Music 'by A. Fairbairn Barnes. (Brighton : I. and W. Chester i hij(h. Otherwise the ~ent is ~veotional. the ~mpani-
'London : 'Bre,itkopf and Hartel) These j\B.rt-songs, six In nll!!'ber, ment being simple In t!le e:dreme. ·. •
...Veal 'Mr. Barnes as a 'tuneful . writer, with a sense ·of !>umour · Alleluia, 'Ciorin u ·man.. By 'B. Luarii-Seiby. (Stainer and
~ will proh<ili!:Y caro' 'off the nonsense wcirds "SUccesSfully. · Ben:) This ,;S a gerri.· 'Withoot being a difficult anthem, its
D!ddkdy '-Dum lu!-s 'the 1~ sens~ess words and the prettiest 'beauty makes Jt ~ o1 performance by any choir -capable .of
-music: · · · -. - · doing It justice. This JS no • Xapellmelster music... · · ·
· ·Eif4nt,aRll, ·for organ, by 'Bemard ·Johoson (Stainer 'JU!d .Bell), Comnumima Sentiu ·in 'G. ·By Ernest Austin. ·(Stainer :an'd
·is· <a very.Uvely-'SO!o. Tbe•miitdle portio~ is -dlstin'ctly·'elll'-tickling, ·Bell.) There -seems •quite,:an ·epidemic ,of ·cb,urc:l\ music In -G.
:ther-e.rbeil!g -an essence about ,its 'Qme and .rhythm of ,~My ·.old This 'howuva', is-entirely modern -aod~ !:lulte>out·of -the
F.rencl>. Bonnet. • Decidedly unfit for <!hin:ch if ,played up to the ·old -~cal ruts, .and 'Jet devoutly ....ngious .in feeling. :n
time marl<ed. There is nothinjl .flimsy, however, ·In its construe- .this is. a paradox, It is at .the same•time true. · · ·
'ti0 n. It ra'ther ·resemble! a .popular item. played by a .Guanjs' Ta ;n.,.,. in-G. By .Joseph :W. G. Ha.thaway. (Stainer and
baod. Would sUit tow\r halls adraiAllily. . · Belj.) -This is .quite f~. Old w;ell-worn phrases liT~ .co~icucius
, · Moto ..ferpotuo, for. org"!', ·by Bern~ Jo?nson (Stainer and by their absence; The Ju'bilata "' l; of the same set Js aJse a
·Bell), is a·fairlv easy solo well wor'th getting, especially by those worthy'modein work. In.~e.~~'in 1 q·Dr. Hathawav'lms
w1iose =organ -and taste suit • seibpre'~·· anii pedal .. quasi succuuibed to the conventiona! style of .treating the verse, ta,And
pizzicato • effects. · 4
• • • thou _chi1d,"' full aod 'lopd. ~~ 'i!: ·not 'be. 111ore artiStit; ...U.d
.· ' Sonato in 'D minD~, for organ, by Harolil D. ·Phi!Ups f.>tainer c:Orr=rtn regard 'the ·words as lielug-·spoken'.calmly aod tenderlf?
-and •Ball), is \-a work in three movements. -It-ls rather .gloomily Ipmgine the old mao tu~ng Iris face to· the clu1d at this·polilt,
'monotonous. In· fact, Part lL gives one ~e -effect of an accom- and iifter a slight ·rest giving' Iris llltenulce .by war of a solo, and
paniment without the melody. A1J thrnugb the.:work there~ .a· not in bolaterous'sboots. · . · ·
_curious scrappiness. It is not too difficult to, come in usefully for · M4gnifi"t ond N. Dim. (with, ·Vesper). Same composer.
~i~cpU1'poses, so this is ln its favour -as regards "'!mmancUng: (Stain!"' ~ .Be!Ll- 'Ihese-are '"-'~ settings WPrthy. '!f the
a .~e.... ; . . .. , .- . _ . , composer .s reputation. : · • · . . . : ..
, 'Chen ufl. Song. 'By 'Edwin H. Lemare. (H. W,"Gray CA.) . · . Tl'ibu, 0 Goil, a-rl .paued m 'S'Jon. . Harvest Anthem. · 'By
:.\·very'commonplace'song'by the well-kitown orgaiiisf aod·l:Om- · Cuthbert Barris. (Novelln.and Co.) A very line setting Of t'he
'poser. 'l'bere· is·aa air Of_cheat'ness''lbout the wholo: thing;' and :Psalmist's ·words.·. As Its !Ufficultieso are not very great, the
-ft'laliardly'·tbe'c!liss of ni\IS!c one 'O...Pects fr!!ll! 'M'r. 'Leniare,-~e anthem Should become exeeedingly popUlar amongst i:bolrs af
Wb:ds.are by=R.._ Louis•Casson.• .. ··:: ·--~ · -~ ·•··· · liverage'abUity. · · !· •/ ·

Illustration 8: A typical review page from Musical News, 11 May 1912, including
comments upon Stanford's Ye Choirs ofNew Jerusalem and the Coronation Gloria
 241

By way of contrast, Stanford's next set of partsongs - eight settings of Mary

Coleridge, published as Op.119 - is given unusually full treatment in Musical News,

seven of the songs receiving separate comment. 18 The critic's greatest praise is given to

The Train, which is a 'bright and breezy setting' in which the composer has 'caught the

spirit ... to a nicety' -in fact, a 'capital little work'. The Swallow is 'charming' with

'novel treatment'; My Heart is thine is a 'short but excellent part-song' with 'clearly

flowing' part-writing; while Farewell my Joy is 'melodious and effective'. The

remaining three numbers under consideration do, however, come in for some kind of

adverse criticism. The Ink-bottle is regarded by the writer as 'a case of mistaken

endeavour', since the words do not lend themselves so readily to musical setting.

Chillingham is described as 'a pleasant, easy flowing ditty' which, however, is marred

by a 'false relation' which the critic finds 'ugly'. The most curious comment, though, is

reserved for The Blue Bird:

A strange little work, the soprano part having not much more to do than sing the word "blue"
occasionally. It opens beautifully, but the eventual result is scarcely convin,~~ng, the final chord, a
dominant ninth, being most unrestful. What the words mean we cannot telL' Miss Coleridge is so
excellent a lyric-writer as a rule that one confesses here to a feeling of disappointment.

Most unusual, too, is the fact that the following week MN prints a letter from a certain

L.A. Lamand referring to the adverse comments on Chillingham and The Blue Bird and

defending their musical virtues. 19 These two particular songs were in time to become

the most popular of the Op.119 set, The Blue Bird retaining its currency for many

decades, and becoming, in the later twentieth century, the best-remembered of all

Stanford's partsongs- and cherished especially for its exquisite ending.

Eight further Coleridge settings were published as Op.127, and fomied a sequel to

the Op.119 set, all sixteen songs being made available in two volumes. The Op.127

18
MN, 6 April 1912, 327. For some reason one number- The Witch- is not included.
19
MN, 13 April1912, 357-8.
 242

settings were reviewed briefly, not only in Musical News and Musical Opinion, but also

in The Choir and Musical Journal, which said of them:

Here we have music without mannerism, art without artificiality, effect without effort, and purity without
repression. Of the part-songs in this book the most simply beautiful seems to us to be 'When Mary
through the garden went,' while for dramatic realism 'Wilderspin' would be difficult to surpass. Here is
good wine which needs no bush. 20

Such comment surely suggests that, at any rate with some critics, Stanford's newly-

written music was still held in high esteem, and subsequent press reference to various

performances of individual songs from these two sets supplies evidence of their ready

acceptance by singers.

Amongst other new choral pteces by Stanford to receive press notices after

publication during the immediate pre-war years were the substantial anthem Blessed

City, Heavenly Salem and a short two-part song for children entitled Lullaby. Of the

former, Musical News judges it a 'very beautiful work ... richly varied, resourceful, and

highly effective', 21 while The Choir speaks just as favourably, describing it as a

'masterly composition, full of fine, effective writing' .22 The Lullaby 'deserves', in the

opinion of Musical News, 'to be used wherever children are taught to sing in parts', for

it is 'a gem' ?3 It was Stanford's misfortune that Bairstow's highly dramatic setting of

Blessed City appeared soon afterwards, eventually eclipsing the earlier piece with a

popularity which it retains to this day.

Perhaps the most notable and substantial choral music produced by Stanford shortly

before the outbreak of war, however, was the set of Three English Motets, Op.135,

composed between February and Easter Day 1913. The first of these unaccompanied

motets is the most elaborate, and takes the form of a set of chorale variations on

Darwall's tune used to the words Ye holy angels bright. The inspiration here is quite

possibly Brahms, whose motets Es ist das Heil (Op.29 no. I) and 0 Heiland, reiss die

2
° Choir, July 1912, 134.
21
MN, 10 January 1914,40.
22
Choir, May 1913, 96.
23
MN, 14 March 1914,250.
 243

Himmel auf (Op.74 no.2) display similar contrapuntal and cantus frrmus techniques.

Stanford's treatment of the tune, increasing the texture from four to eight parts as the

work progresses, is both technically dazzling and musically convincing, as

contemporary critics acknowledged following a performance of the motet at the 1913

Gloucester Festival. The Musical Times comments that the piece, which received a

"fairly effective' performance, in its last (eight-part) section "brilliantly exhibited the

contrapuntal facility of the composer' ,24 while the Athenaeum describes the music as

"clever, but not laboured, as is often the case when counterpoint and fugal devices are

employed' 25 - a comment echoed by the Pall Mall Gazette. 26 Other papers were

equally impressed, describing the motet with such epithets as "ingenious' 27 and

"masterly' .28

Of two reviews of the complete set of motets - in The Choir and Musical Opinion29

-the latter is the more overtly laudatory, describing Ye holy angels bright as •a splendid

example of eight-part writing at once free and effective', judging that Eternal Father

(six-part) 'ranks with the composer's very finest essays', and pointing out that while the

four-part Glorious and Powerful God will find "ready acceptance with smaller choirs'

because of its "more tractable character', it is "not in any wise less effective than its

companions'.

The outbreak of war in 1914 prompted from Stanford one further sacred piece,

described by Jeremy Dibble as his 'most dramatic anthem', in which:

Through the analogy of Habbukuk's prophetic writings, Stanford sought to express his own sense of
horror at the War. 30

24
MT, 1 October 1913,664-6.
25
Ath, 20 September 1913,291.
26
PMG, 12 September 1913,5.
27
DTe/, 12 September 1913, 8.
28
T, 12 September 1913,4.
29
Choir, November 1913, 214; MO, l September 1913,940.
30
Dibble, Stanford, 410.
 244

Perhaps as a result of wartime constraints, For lo, I raise up, Op.145 was not published

during Stanford's lifetime, and appeared in print as late as 1939, prompting two reviews

which demonstrate that, a decade and a half after the composer's death, his best music

had by no means lost its power to impress. The Musical Times calls it 'big music,

dramatic and impressive' ,31 while the Musical Opinion, by now taking much more

space for its reviews, remarks upon the anthem's particular suitability during another

period of war, wondering whether the 'passionate outburst' in the middle of the piece

has perhaps 'rather a vindictive ring', but praising the 'glorious' final pages which

'show the composer in his most inspired mood and in all his superb distinction of

style' .32 Such favourable initial impressions have not faltered, and in recent decades

this fine anthem has become an established item in the repertoires of many of England's

best cathedral and collegiate choirs.

Music in time of War and last works

The war years were a worrying and increasingly difficult time for Stanford - especially

financially 33 - and although this period saw the production of his last two operas and

several instrumental and orchestral works, the writing of new choral music seems to

have practically ceased between 1915 and 1918. There was, however, one small

exception. The 1914-18 War was the first to be fought in part from the air, and Stanford

responded warmly to some words by A.C. Ainger asking divine protection for those

flying the new aeroplanes, setting them as a short Aviator's Hymn for mixed voices and

organ. Though a typical war-time patriotic production, Stanford's four pages of music

show his undimmed skill in melodic variation and subtle, ever-changing organ

harmonies throughout the thrice-repeated unison tune. Published by Stainer and Bell in

31
MT, 1 February 1940,68.
32
MO, 1 March 1940, 256.
33
See Rodmell, Stanford, 286-7,297-8, 305-10; Dibble, Stanford, 415-34.
 245

1917, the piece received appreciative notices in Musical News, Musical Opinion and

The Choir, the first of these journals declaring that Stanford's 'excellent' music 'should

be thoroughly popular amongst R[oyal] F[lying] C[orps] men and their friends' ?4

The next significant choral work to come from Stanford's pen appears to have been

the Latin Magnificat, Op.164. Scored for unaccompanied double chorus, this fine piece

was probably intended from the outset as a reconciliation offering to Parry (with whom

relations had been very strained for some time). 35 Although completed in September

1918, however, Stanford was denied the opportunity of presenting the score of the

Magnificat to his old colleague by the latter's death on 7 October, and the published

version thus contains a dedication, in Latin, to Parry's memory. 36 Why should the

appearance in print of such a distinguished piece not only fail to elicit a single word of

press comment, but also, as far as is known, attract not a single performance either at

this time or for some years afterwards? The reasons are probably several: firstly, it took

some time for the musical world to recover from the deprivations and economies of the

war years; secondly, despite these deprivations, substantial quantities of choral music

had continued to appear during the 1914-18 period, but the constraints of reviewing

space were greater than usual, since most musical journals had found it necessary to

economise by reducing the number of pages in each issue; thirdly the Magnificat,

Op.164 is entirely different in character to Stanford's several other settings of the

canticle, and its elaborate texture, length, and Latin text, as well as the absence of a

companion Nunc Dimittis setting, would have all tended to exclude it from the

repertoires of cathedral and collegiate choirs at this period; 37 and fourthly, the provincial

34
MN, 29 September 1917, 197; MO, 1 August 1917, 680; Choir, February 1918,39.
35
See Dibble, Stanford, 432-4,441; Rodmell, Stanford, 305-9,315.
36
The Magnificat was published by Boosey in 1919.
37
There was still, at this time and for several more years to come, a reluctance on the part of many
Anglican church choirs to sing works in Latin - doubtless a survival ofthe anti-Catholic sentiments so
prevalent in the Victorian era. It is interesting to note, in this context, the relative fortunes of Stanford's
two sets of motets during his lifetime: the Three English Motets of 1913 gained acceptance fairly
 246

musical festivals, formerly the most likely venues for performances of such works, had

been discontinued during the war, and many were never revived.

The end of the Great War motivated Stanford to write a large-scale Mass for

soloists, chorus and orchestra, to which he gave the title Mass Via Victrix 1914-1918.

Though uncommissioned, and with no performance in prospect, a vocal score of the

work was published by Boosey in 1920, its appearance passing unnoticed by the press.

The work contains passages as inspired as in any earlier choral work of its composer,

and while there is no record of any complete performance, and it cannot even be certain

if Stanford orchestrated any part of it, the Gloria in excelsis, conducted by the

composer, was heard in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. The occasion was the

revival of an ancient custom - Chancellor's Music - a special concert to honour a

University Chancellor. The Chancellor honoured on this occasion was Arthur Balfour,

Conservative politician and former Prime Minister. He and several other dignitaries 38

attended a conferral of honorary degrees on the morning of Tuesday 15 June 1920, and

after lunch processed to the ceremonial concert in King's Chapel at 3 pm. Although

several newspapers list the concert programme in full- apart from Stanford's Gloria it

included Parry's Blest Pair of Sirens and pieces by Purcell, Wood, Rootham, Gray,

Naylor and Vaughan Williams- the evidence for which items were performed with

orchestra and which just with organ is tantalisingly absent. While the Cambridge

Chronicle states clearly that Rootham's opening Processional (conducted by the

composer) was played by the London Symphony Orchestra, and also mentions the

orchestra again later in the same paragraph, 39 the Cambridge Daily News refers to 'a

special organ and vocal recital' and mentions no orchestra at all, although the concert

quickly, whereas there are no recorded performances of the Three Latin Motets, published several years
earlier (in 1905), outside Cambridge until after their composer's death.
38
Others present included Lloyd George (Prime Minister), Lord Robert Cecil, and (Austen?)
Chamberlain.
39
CamChr, 16 June 1920, 5.
 247

concluded with an overture by Naylor (which could, one supposes, have been played on

the organ). 40 Other reports in the Cambridge Review41 and the Musical Times 42 make

no reference to instrumental forces. Clearly, however, no effort was spared on the

occasion, for the soloists in Stanford's Gloria were four of the best-known singers of

the day: Agnes Nicholls, Dilys Jones, Gervase Elwes and Plunket Greene. It is

therefore possible that, even if Stanford never orchestrated the other movements of the

Via Victrix mass, the Gloria was so treated for this special performance. Certain it is

that the concert as a whole created a considerable impression: CamDN judges the 'two

outstanding features of the recital' to be the Antiphon from Vaughan Williams's Five

Mystical Songs and 'Stanford's beautiful "Gloria in Excelsis"', while CamChr states

that 'the effect of the orchestra and chorus in the various combined works was

magnificent, and especially was this noticeable in "Blest Pair of Sirens", conducted by

Sir Charles Stanford'.

One further choral piece connected with the war was completed towards the end of

1920. At the Abbey Gate, Op.177 is a setting for baritone solo, chorus and orchestra of

a short poem by C.J. Darling referring to the Unknown Warrior. 43 Commissioned by

the Royal Choral Society, the work was first performed by that body, under Stanford's

direction, at the beginning of a concert on 5 March 1921 in which the main work was

Elgar's Gerontius. Press comment was somewhat muted, in part, it would seem,

because of the lack-lustre singing of the chorus throughout the concert. 44 A review in

The Times is careful to point out the difficulty, so soon after the war, of regarding

dispassionately anything connected with it, and recommends a detached view:

40
CamDN, 16 June 1920,3.
41
CamRev, 18 June 1920,426.
42
MT, I July 1920; 489.
43
The poem was published in the Times on 26 October 1920, the very day on which the Unknown
Warrior was buried in the nave of Westminster Abbey.
44
Speculation must surely be aroused as to whether the 76-year-old Frederick Bridge still retained an
ability to inspire his choir- he had retired from Westminster Abbey three years previously. As far as
Stanford is concerned, Greene tells us that he was far from well and had to be fortified with sal volatile
 248

By such detachment one is able to appreciate [Stanford's] reticence and admire the certain nobility of
design and workmanship which has given a due impressiveness to his setting. But the very depth of our
sensitiveness makes us exacting in respect of such associative expression, and we could not feel that the
45
music had enough emotion behind it to do full justice to the touching little poem.

The tone of the Daily Telegraph review is broadly similar, and of Stanford's piece the

critic says:

Mr Plunket Greene sang the few brief phrases allotted to the soloist impressively enough, but one felt
neither the words nor music to be worthy so sublime a theme. 46

While Alfred Kalisch in the Musical Times, although respecting the 'simple and

dignified' words and the 'simple dignity' of Stanford's music also wishes for something

more:

The composer might, however, have been less studiously simple without sacrificing the dignity necessary
in dealing with so great a subject. 47

It is tempting to wonder whether the somewhat 'reticent' manner adopted by Stanford in

this work was a deliberate choice in view of the sensitive subject or merely yet another

example of his so frequently perceived lack of emotional involvement in his music.

Clearly a work designed for a specific occasion, it would be somewhat surprising to

find At the Abbey Gate entering the regular choral repertoire, but there is one further

performance recorded- in Toronto at the end of April1922- on which occasion a critic

dismisses it as 'rather vague' .48

Quite unconnected with war, and completed in August 1919, is Stanford's final

choral ballad- a setting of Tennyson's Merlin and the Gleam for baritone solo, chorus

and orchestra. Bearing a dedication to Harry Plunket Greene, the vocal score was

published by Stainer and Bell in 1920, and the work received its first performance on 6

March that year by the Alexandra Palace Choral and Orchestral Society. The

before the performance (Greene, Stanford, 2734). It was, in fact, Stanford's last appearance in public as
a conductor.
45
T, 7 March 1921,8.
46
DTe/, 7 March 1921, 14.
47
MT, 1 Aprill921, 270-1.
48
MT, 1 June 1922, 440.
 249

implication seems to be that the work, conducted by Stanford, was performed with

orchestral accompaniment. The Musical Times reports:

The concert of the Alexandra Palace Choral and Orchestral Society drew a large audience to the Northern
Polytechnic on March 6. The chief interest in the programme was the first performance of Sir Charles
Stanford's 'Merlin and the Gleam,' for baritone (Mr. Frederick Ranalow), chorus, and orchestra, a work
of warm melody and rich colouring. Under the composer's direction the choir gave a performance that
49
was full of life and interest. Sir Charles Stanford also conducted his 'Songs ofthe Fleet' ...

The remainder of the programme included Blest Pair of Sirens and Coleridge-Taylor's

Hiawatha's Wedding Feast, but it would seem that Stanford's name and presence could

still draw a sizeable and enthusiastic audience. A further performance of Merlin is

50
recorded by the Blackburn Glee and Madrigal Society on 24 February 1925.

After the 1914-18 War Stanford began to feel increasingly out of touch with

developing compositional styles amongst the younger generation of English composers

(many of them his pupils), a view expressed in a letter of 1923 to his friend Robert

McEwen:

I suppose I am more or less out of date ... I see all the youngsters going ahead with stuff which I would
not soil my pen and paper with, but my pen and paper appear to be unacceptable to those who publish and
has to remain pen and paper! 51

His own compositional style had hardly changed since the 1880s, and his reactionary

attitude to twentieth-century developments in harmony, rhythm and use of orchestral

colour is evident both in his writings and in his comments to his pupils. This made him,

by the early 1920s, in Paul Rodmell's words, 'a dinosaur in the compositional field'. 52

Despite the changing world around him, and the increasing difficulty of interesting

publishers in some of his larger new works, there were still two areas of choral

composition in which a conservative style such as Stanford's was admirably suited to

public demand and taste - the choral song, often in unison or two parts and for

educational use, and music for the Anglican Church. In these two areas Stanford

49
MT, I April 1920, 254.
50
MT, 1 April 1925, 358.
51
Letter from Stanford to McEwen, 25 December 1923, quoted in Dibble, Stanford, 449.
52
Rodmell, Stanford, 360.
 250

remained productive until the end, doubtless partly out of financial necessity, and his

choral songs, anthems and service settings were published and appreciatively reviewed.

The conservatism of many amateur choirs is reflected in a Musical Opinion

comment on the appearance in print of a set of six arrangements by Stanford of Irish

Airs:

Sir Charles V. Stanford deserves the sincere thanks of all mixed-voice choirs for his educative and sound
arrangements of six Irish airs, words by Thomas Moore. They will prove most acceptable to the class of
choirmaster who thinks "modem music is a nightmare, and modem poetry a disease." To call these
beautifully conceived choral versions "arrangements" is not adequate; it is an injustice. The favourites
may almost be guessed: "How dear to me the hour," "My gentle harp," and "They know not my heart."53

It appears that by the early 1920s the Musical Opinion often produced some of the

more substantial review pages to be found in the musical press. Further secular choral

pieces by Stanford to receive attention in its columns at this time were the 'rhythmic

and vigorous' unison song Fineen the Rover54 and The Morris Dance (SATB) which,

together with a couple of (unspecified) unison songs initiates a new Cramer series of

such music 'very worthily'. 55

In its monthly section devoted to church and organ music, MO produced at this time

some extended and detailed reviews of new church compositions, sometimes complete

with printed musical quotations. Stanford's 'very fine' Unison Service in D is thus

treated, with quotations of the 'imposing sweep' at the opening of the Te Deum and the

'wonderfully impressive' reiterations 'Holy, holy, holy', and the publisher (the newly-

established Oxford University Press) is commended:

We warmly welcome this new and valuable series of unison church music. It starts off finely with Sir
Charles Stanford's Service in D, backed up by Dr. Bairstow's Service in E flat, and bids fair to maintain a
high standard of excellence. 56

Of Stanford's several late anthems it was the set of three, Op.l92, published by

Novello in 1923, that received the greatest attention in the press: the Musical Times

53
MO, I October I922, 87.
54
MO, I November I923, I76.
55
MO, I February I924, 533.
56
MO, I September I923, II 52.
 251

57
provides appreciative and separate comment upon each ofthe three anthems, but once

again it is the Musical Opinion that provides fuller comment, devoting a complete

paragraph to each piece. While shepherds watched is admired for its 'picturesque

expression' and its 'pastoral' character, while in Lo! He comes 'the music, with its

broad, diatonic sweep, its vigorous rhythms, its general brilliance and facility, is fine

and characteristic'. 58 The review of Jesus Christ is risen today, published ten months

earlier, expresses an overall appreciation of Stanford's contribution to Anglican church

mUSIC:

This fine but by no means difficult anthem from the pen of the distinguished composer who has done so
much for church music, will be widely welcomed. The Easter Hymn is set broadly and brilliantly.... The
organ throughout is used in a masterly manner. 59

The fortuitous element in the selection of small choral works for review is once

again shown in this last clutch of Stanford's anthems, however, by the fact that the piece

to have found most favour with church and cathedral choirs in more recent times - How

beauteous are their feet (Novello, 1923) - is one of those ignored by the musical press

at the time of its publication.

Final tributes

In the weeks and months following Stanford's death there was no shortage of tributes to

him in national and provincial newspapers, in the musical press, and at the RCM. The

Times obituary headline includes the phrase 'Composer of Genius', and a section of the

substantial article concerning 'The Creative Artist' has no hesitation, despite changing

taste and fashion, in identifying the high quality of much of his enormous output:

There is matter in his music of every class which repays the closest study, and the most damning
reflection on the much-vaunted musicality of this country to-day is the readiness with which it allows the

57
MT, I February I923, Ill (Jesus Christ is risen today); 1 December I923, 843 (Lo! He comes and
While shepherds watched).
58
MO, I March 1924,607.
59
MO, 1 May 1923, 765.
 252

great mass of the work of its most serious musical artists to pass into oblivion as soon as they are
succeeded by a newer fashion. 60

Pointing to the fact that Stanford is known to many choral singers and conductors

primarily as the composer of The Revenge, the writer makes a plea for more widespread

appreciation of his 'noble Latin Te Deum' and the 'poignantly beautiful Stabat Mater'.

He also notes that, despite the clear influence on Stanford of other composers' styles

and mannerisms (Brahms, Dvorak, Glazounov and Verdi are specifically mentioned):

Yet beneath all these varieties there is something which is unmistakably Stanford in the melodic contours
and in the peculiarly clean, incisive, and sparing use of harmonic effect.

J. Percy Baker's article in Musical Opinion refers appreciatively to some of

Stanford's most striking choral works- as, for example, the 'beauty' of The Voyage of

Mae/dune and the 'vivid appeal' of The Revenge - summing up his stature as a

composer thus:

Stanford's work might or might not appeal to everybody- that was a personal matter- but there was no
gainsaying the fact that here was a master of his craft, one who knew what he wanted to say and knew
how to say it: a combination which is not so common at any time that we can afford to underrate it. It
might be that he was not always inspired: what composer is? But he was ever the accomplished musician.
It might be that sometimes he appealed more to the intellect than to the emotions, but he could never be
ignored. In judging an artist we must be guided by his best work, and not by that which may fall below it
in merit: and at his best Stanford was a composer who surely came very near to genius, if indeed he may
not be considered to have possessed it. 61

The Musical Times picks up the same theme, commenting on his enormous output:

As is inevitable in so vast an output there is much that is unoriginal, but impeccable workmanship is
always evident. The matter may be perfunctory, the manner never.... So unerring was [Stanford's]
knowledge of effect- which is, of course, merely a branch of a composer's technique- that many a work,
uninspired and dull on paper, 'comes off' so well in performance as to reach a degree of success denied to
better music Jess well written. 62

Extensive reference is made to Stanford's distinguished contributions to the choral

repertoire, the epoch-making Service in B flat, several of the choral ballads, some of the

best part-songs, and the series of works connected with the sea being singled out for

special mention. Speaking of the neglect of his larger works (in common with those of

other British composers), the writer is, however, optimistic for the future:

60
T, 31 March 1924, 17.
61
MO, 1 May 1924, 797-8.
62
MT, 1 May 1924,402-3.
 253

We believe that a revival of the bigger Stanford works will take place, and that it will show him to be of
greater stature than was evident to most musicians during his life-time. But even without such a revival
his name will stand high, not merely in the roll of British composers, but in that elect line where such
national labels are rarely used.

In the years immediately preceding the First World War Stanford's name and

reputation still stood high amongst English musicians, though his larger choral works no

longer excited the same breadth of interest as would have been the case ten or fifteen

years earlier. It is perhaps significant that two of his last pre-war works for chorus and

orchestra- the Wellington Ode and the Ode to Discord- show a composer beginning to

lose touch with progress in the musical world about him: the former setting an outdated

poem on a long-forgotten subject; the latter an attempt to dismiss by parody musical

developments that he found either distasteful or incomprehensible. The war itself

changed matters irrevocably, and after 1918 the dawn of a new era looked forward, in

music as in all else, to fresh ideas. In such a world, Stanford's music was no longer of

much interest. It seems unsurprising that the larger works of his final years lay

unperformed or unpublished: the three masses written for Westminster Cathedral have

disappeared without trace; the Missa Via Victrix, though published, was ignored by

those choral bodies that would probably have performed such a work ten years before;

Merlin and the Gleam received only a couple of public airings; and the Latin Magnificat

was not heard in the composer's lifetime (nor, probably, for several years thereafter). It

was in small-scale pieces for church choir, partsongs for small vocal ensembles, and

choral songs for the educational market that Stanford found his most successful outlet in

these post-war years, for here musical taste was still conservative, and his music found a

ready acceptance.

Many composers suffer a period of neglect in the years immediately following their

deaths, but in Stanford's case, that neglect lasted for several decades, during which time

his choral output was kept alive principally through his services and anthems, two or

three partsongs (including The Blue Bird), and larger works such as The Revenge and
 254

the two sets of sea-songs. Most of his larger choral output lay forgotten, save for

occasional revivals of the three great Latin works. It is only in the last twenty years or

so that a wider resurgence of interest in Stanford's music has begun, and some of the

best works in his vast output are being examined and appraised by fresh eyes and ears.

The revival of some of the larger works (orchestral as well as choral) predicted in the

Musical Times at the time of his death, though long-delayed, has finally begun.
 255

Conclusion

Stanford and the English Musical Renaissance

Ever since the years of his early maturity as a musician, Stanford has been generally

regarded by commentators on English music as one of the leaders of a movement that

came to be known as the 'English Musical Renaissance', a term devised to describe

reaction to the notion of a 'land without music'.

Throughout the nineteenth century the periodic appearance of muted comments

expressing a perceived lack of musicality and musical initiative amongst English people

was a cause for concern amongst the artistic elite. If England had ever been in any real

sense a 'land without music' it was well before the Victorian era, but there did exist,

until the 1870s or early 1880s, a certain lack of confidence in national musical identity.

It became the self-appointed task of the composers of Stanford's generation to rectify

this lack of focus by injecting a new zeal and energy into English music, and creating

what Joseph Bennett christened a 'Renaissance' . 1

Of the many nineteenth- and twentieth-century writers, both at home and abroad,

who have commented on the perception of musical backwardness amongst English

musicians, probably the vast majority have refuted or attempted to minimise its

existence. 2 Nicholas Temperley, in one of the most recent essays on the subject,

equates 'Das Land ohne Musik' with 'The Dark Age of British Music', the latter term

having become fashionable towards the end of the nineteenth century with those writers

1
Bennett's review of Parry's Symphony No.1 in DTel, 4 September 1882, was the frrst occasion on which
the term 'renaissance' was used in thls context.
2
Examples include, from the 19th century: The Musical World, vol.l5 (1841), 155; Robert Schumann,
'An English composer is no composer', Neue Zeitschriftfiir Musik, 24 February 1837; G.A. Macfarren,
'The English are not a Musical People', Cornhi/1 Magazine, vol.l8 (1868), 344-63; and from the later 20th
century: Gatens, Victorian Cathedral Music, 18-19; Stephen Banfield, 'The Artist in Society', Blackwell
History of Music in Britain, vol.5, ed. Temper1ey, 11-28; Burrows, 'Victorian England', 267.
 256

3
on English music who wished to point to a following 'light age' or 'renaissance'.

Temperley gives an interesting overview of the differing conclusions drawn by such

writers in a chart tracing the downward/upward trends in English music revealed in no

less than eighteen publications between 1886 (Ouseley) and 1993 (Stradling and

Hughes), shown here as Illustration 9.

The first use of the phrase 'Das Land ohne Musik' dates, in fact, from as late as

1914, when it first appeared as the title of a book by Oscar Schmitz. Meirion Hughes

and Robert Stradling take the view that the stance of Schmitz's book, published soon

after the beginning of World War I, was a deliberate and 'scurrilous German attack on

the achievements ofthe English Musical Renaissance'. 4

Whatever degree of truth may have underlined such a phrase at an earlier date, by

1914 England was most decidedly no longer a 'land without music', even in the field of

original composition, following the much-publicised successes gained during the

previous three decades in Germany by Stanford and Elgar, and the more recent

emergence of a new generation of highly gifted English composers, headed by Ralph

Vaughan Williams, whose Fantasia on a Theme ofThomas Tallis (Gloucester Festival,

1910) and Sea Symphony (Leeds Festival, 1910) were recognised early on as original

and innovative works. 5 Sullivan, too, enjoyed early success in Leipzig with his music

for The Tempest, and at a later date the German pianist and teacher Robert Papperitz (at

one stage Stanford's piano teacher) had judged his talent superior to that ofBrahms. 6

3
Nicholas Temperley, 'Xenophilia in British Musical History', Nineteenth Century British Music
Studies, vol.1, ed. Bennett Zon, Ashgate, Aldershot 1999, 3-18.
4
Stradling & Hughes, The English Musical Renaissance 1840-1940,83.
5
Stanford's music had received several perfonnances in Gennany. After the success of his first opera
The Veiled Prophet in Hanover (Feb. 1881), his next opera Savonarola had been even better received in
Hamburg (April 1894), and his acceptance in Germany as a composer of great promise was sealed by the
Berlin concert devoted to his orchestral works (Jan. 1889), including the Suite for Violin and Orchestra
and the specially written Fourth Symphony, eliciting glowing reviews in the Gennan press. The huge
success ofthe two Dilsseldorfperfonnances ofElgar's Gerontius (1901-2) and Strauss's subsequent
lionizing of the composer are well documented.
6
Young, History ofBritish Music, 509.
 .•;p

Z~~'~

=--·= : :-'
C')
~~
e.ai
0. ...

a.:.:.:·. Chronologies of the 'dark age' and 'renaissance'

::s .....
I»
tn II' 0
o-i r;;· ::s
a § :-?
]8n
Source 1700 1714 1760 1800 1837 1850 1880 1900

., ~o

(;'" ..... 3 Ouseley, 1886 """' - - - - - - - - - - - - -'lowest ebb' - - - - - - - - - - - - - .,r - - - - - - - 'good music of every kind' - - - - - - - -
~="0

-= . .
-
'>O(ICl
\0
ttil»
=-: <'
~
Hueffer,1889 .,r 'great improvement of the "Spirit of Music"'
"""'- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -:. - - - - - - - - - - 'disrepute' ; - - - - - - - - - - - - - ·- - - - - - - - - - - .,r 'awakening'
~~~ Davey, '1895
. s-
3 r::r
c::-
Fuller Maitland, 1902 ..,._'low point';- -'unfruitful'- - .,1f 'Renaissance'- - - - - - - - -
(ll ~
Walker, 1907 "-.- - - - - - - - - 'dark stretch' - - - - - - - - "-.- - - 'nadir of composition' - - - :,W ['dark stretch' continues?] _.1f 'Renaissance'-
.'Tlo=-
c;·(ll

., ~ Bumpus, 1908 "-. - - - -cathedral music 'stood still' - - - - .,1t

3&8
0 -·
Forsyth, 1916 "-.- - - - - ·• - - - - - - -· • - - - - - - - - - - - - energies devoted to imperial expansion-·· - - - - - - - - .,r 'national awakening'
~;; Hadow, 1931 "'- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 'dark age' - - - - - - -
___ .,1f
- 'dawn and progress of the English Renascence' - - - - -
.g::s .....
0.
Calles, 1934 .,r - - -'precipitous ascent' - - - -
::r-~
::::ca
5· a Fellowes, 1941 .;,.._
- - - - - 'poverty' of cathedral music, 'lean period' - - - - - - - - -., 'great revival'"-. 'sentimentalism' ., 'revival'
s· ::s-· Blom, 1942 "-.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 'decline' - - - - - - - - - - - ?-+ "-. - - - - - 'nadir' - - - - - ., 'Renascence'
~S'
....:::-. -a... . Mellers, 1946 "-. - - - - • - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -.- - - - - - - - 'dark ages'
______ .,1f

~~ Howes, 1966 .,r 'Renaissance'

~ ::t.
~ § Long, 1971 "'-·-- church music in 'decline' _ . - .,r 'awakening'
.... (ll

B
_.....,
o Pirie, 1979 ,_- -'darkest hour' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .,r Renaissance'

g;~ Banfield, 1985 ':ii. songs: 'overall impression of worthlessness' .,r

..... ~
c 0. Beedell, 1992 "'- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 'decline' - - - - - - - - - - - - - .,r
~~
I ~~' Stradling & Hughes, 1993 _.1f 'Renaissance' - -
~

-.
 258

It seems clear from Stanford's prolific activities as composer and pedagogue, as

well as from the supremely high standards he set himself (and his pupils) in terms of

technical accomplishment, structural clarity and overall quality, that he was indeed

striving constantly for the best that was humanly possible in his field, and for a more

disciplined approach to composition than had hitherto been the norm. Although

regarded in his later years as reactionary by an impatient younger generation, Stanford

was nevertheless, even as he reached his late-fifties, capable of occasional touches of

considerable daring and originality - shown, for example, in the final lingering seventh

chord of his lastingly-popular partsong The Blue Bird (Op.119 no.3, 191 0). Some other

choral works from his last few years are, moreover, amongst his finest creations: Ye

Holy Angels Bright (Op.135 no.1, 1913) is as fine as the best motets of Brahms; the

Latin Magnificat (Op.164, 1918) is a masterly work paying homage to Bach's

contrapuntal style; and parts of the largely unperformed Missa Via Victrix (Op.173,

1919) show Stanford's inspiration still at the same high level as in earlier Latin works

such as the Stabat Mater. Considering also the long list of his composition pupils- a

list which reads like a 'who's who' of English composers in the first half of the

twentieth century - we must surely concede that Stanford played a vital role in raising

national musical standards and aspirations during the course of a long career, and was

indeed a true leader of an 'English Musical Renaissance'.

Stanford's impact as a choral composer

Stanford's huge legacy of choral music (between one-third and half of his total output)

covers a wide variety of genres from grand oratorio to simple anthem, extended choral

ballad to humble partsong, and settings of Latin texts both large (Requiem, Te Deum,

Stabat Mater) and small (Three Motets, Op.38). Some degree of unevenness in quality

is unsurprising in any composer of such fecundity, and one of the aims of this study has
 259

been to determine, from examination of contemporary press reports and, occasionally,

other sources, the relative successes and failures amongst Stanford's choral works.

In the third quarter of the nineteenth century - the years during which Stanford and

his generation grew to maturity - oratorio was at the height of popularity with the

English public, and it was the quest of many a native composer to attempt the form.

Stanford was tempted towards it twice during his earlier years, but while both The

Three Holy Children and Eden received much praise from critics and public alike at

their first appearance, significant reservations were also voiced about both works, and

praise for technical accomplishment was frequently tempered with remarks concerning

a lack of passion and inspiration (clearly shown in Tables 4 and 7). Eden in particular

was thought to be too esoteric to become popular with the general public, and, like its

predecessor, disappeared from public view after a mere handful of performances.

Despite the best intentions, and a great deal of effort on the part of Parry,

Mackenzie, Stanford, Cowen and others, it was not until the turn of the twentieth

century that an English oratorio- Elgar's Gerontius- established itself as firmly in the

hearts and minds of the British music-loving public as the well-loved favourites by

foreign composers. 7

Although Stanford's two oratorios, despite some initial critical and public interest,

ultimately failed to gain a permanent place in the repertoire, he was more successful in

the realm of the choral ballad - a form which he developed and made particularly his

own. With The Revenge Stanford achieved perhaps his greatest popular success, this

short choral piece receiving more performances than any other of his choral works with

orchestra, becoming a serious rival to Parry's Blest Pair ofSirens and Sullivan's Golden

Legend, and remaining a regular feature of choral society programmes into the second

7
Messiah and Elijah were the two most frequently performed oratorios in later nineteenth century
England, while Israel in Egypt and Creation were also very popular, along with works by Gounod and
Dvoi'ak.
 260

half of the twentieth century - long after Sullivan's work had been consigned to

oblivion. Table 5 gives a clear indication of its enthusiastic welcome from the critics.

Others of Stanford's choral ballads - notably The Voyage of Mae/dune and, most

strikingly of all, Phaudrig Crohoore - achieved lasting popularity on a lesser scale (see

Tables 6 and 8), but it was the two sets of sea songs (1904 and 1910) that proved the

only true successors to The Revenge in securing a firm and permanent place in the

affections of British choral singers. This popularity may be seen from the number of

performances of Songs of the Sea and Songs of the Fleet listed in Appendix 1, although

Table 11 shows a somewhat less than wholly enthusiastic initial reception for the Songs

ofthe Sea.

Herbert Thompson's perceptive observations on the fate of new choral works

frequently having more to do with difficulties of performance or too intellectual a

content (see chapter 3, 117-8) can explain the failures of some Stanford works to attract

attention in the long term. Eden, for example, demands six soloists in addition to

divided chorus with orchestra, is over-long, and has an esoteric resonance beyond the

grasp of many.

Others of Stanford's less successful works may have had a short performing life for

other reasons, however. Carmen Saeculare, the Installation Ode and East to West are

occasional works (respectively for the Queen's Golden Jubilee, the Installation of a new

Cambridge University Chancellor and a Chicago Exhibition). The only one of them to

receive more than a single performance was the 'Chicago' Ode, performed in 1893, first

by the Royal Choral Society in London, then during the CUMS Jubilee celebrations in

Cambridge (though, curiously enough, not apparently heard in the American city for

which it was written). Saint-Saens, present at the Cambridge performance, made a point

of commenting favourably upon this 'oevre de circonstance'.

 261

The 'Choral Overture' Ave atque vale, written in 1909 to mark the centenaries ofthe

death of Haydn and the birth of Tennyson was also in many ways an occasional piece.

Its brief topicality - it received three performance in the centenary year - caused it to be

shelved for more than a decade, after which it was revived on three further occasions in

the early 1920s.

Four other odes by Stanford received mere handfuls of performances. The earliest

of these, the Elegiac Ode contains fine music and was praised by more than a few critics

at the time of its first appearance at Norwich in 1884. The subject matter, however, is

rather lugubrious, and many at the time found Whitman's poetry difficult. Possibly for

these reasons, there appear to have been only seven performances of the work - the last

ofthem in 1907. The setting of Gray's poem The Bard also turned out to have limited

appeal, possibly due in part to the text and to its indelibly Welsh flavour, although

Stanford's music is not his most inspired. Only two performances have come to light:

the premier at Cardiff (1895) and a performance by CUMS the following year.

Tennyson was clearly a favourite poet of Stanford's - he set him on numerous

occasions. In the case of the Ode on the Death of Wellington, however, the composer

perhaps made an unwise choice, for it is difficult to understand how this typically

serious poem could have much resonance with an audience in 1908, referring as it did to

a sombre event fifty-six years before. The music does little to lighten the mood, and the

Bristol premiere was followed by just one further hearing in Leeds two years later, after

which the piece was, like its subject, buried. Stanford's enthusiasm for Tennyson may,

in fact, have blinded him to some ofthe poet's mannerisms and shortcomings. 8

The Ode to Discord was a 'musical joke' of limited appeal and relevance. After an

initial flurry of performances (three of them in 1909), this demonstration of Stanford's

8
Some critics had commented upon the slightly irritating repetition of the words' And we came' at the
beginning of each new section in The Voyage of Mae/dune (see chapter 3, 130).
 262

inability to come to terms with modem trends was given a couple of further hearings in

Norwich (1910) and Liverpool (1911) and then discreetly laid to rest.

Of Stanford's larger sacred choral works, it is the three with Latin texts that proved

the most successful and the most frequently revived. Several critics expressed high

praise for what they detected as a greater degree of emotional freedom of expression in

the Requiem (1897), the Te Deum (1898) and the Stabat Mater (1907), and it was

generally felt that in these works the composer came closest to true greatness. Tables 9,

10 and 12 show early press reaction to these works, indicating that it was only in the

case of the Te Deum that a few critics expressed disappointment with the emotional

temperature of the music.

It could be argued, however, that it is in Stanford's music for the Anglican Church

that his greatest contribution to English choral music is to be found. His Service in B

flat (1879) set a new standard in Anglican liturgical music, and, despite the apparent

lack of any critical attention in the press, very speedily gained a wide circulation, the Te

Deum in particular becoming almost a sine qua non at festival and celebratory services

throughout the Anglican communion. His subsequent canticle settings were taken up

with equal enthusiasm, though wideness of circulation and frequency of performance

were in some cases limited by their greater vocal demands (in particular, the double-

choir Gloria of the A major setting, and the demanding treble and baritone solos in the

G major). His first published anthem, The Lord is my shepherd, also gained a favoured

place in church and cathedral repertoires, as did, in course of time, several later pieces.

It is noteworthy that, during the decades of the mid-twentieth century when Stanford's

music was largely neglected and unknown, the church music remained as popular as

ever, keeping his name very much alive in choirstall and cloister.

Although the publication, from the 1860s onwards, of ever-increasing quantities of

new partsongs, anthems and service settings proved too great for the capacity of critics
 263

or journals, which could appraise only a small proportion of them in their regular review

columns, such works of Stanford's as received attention were, with very few exceptions,

appreciatively reviewed. In the absence of critical comment, however, the printed

service lists of cathedrals, churches and college chapels, and concert programmes of
9
secular choirs, can give some small indication of the popularity of specific pieces.

Larger choral works intended for the concert hall, though also in plentiful supply,

were far more likely to receive detailed critical attention, and Stanford's oratorios,

cantatas and choral ballads almost all received extensive comment in the press. It is

here that a greater divergence of critical opinion can be found.

In general terms, there was a considerable amount of interest in and positive

evaluation of Stanford's choral works with orchestra, and there is a plentiful supply of

reviews for published scores and first performances. Except in cases where a paper had

missed the first hearing of a work, reviews of second and subsequent performances were

usually shorter, and sometimes very brief. The critics from whom the most consistently

favourable opinions flowed included close Stanford associates such as Fuller Maitland,

Barclay Squire and C.L. Graves, long-serving critics including Bennett and Thompson,

and others such as Haweis, Frost, Stratton and, later, Baughan. 10 Adverse criticism of

Stanford's choral music (and, indeed, that of his music school contemporaries) flowed

freely from the pens of Shaw, Blackburn and Runciman, who saw it as their mission to

alter the course of English music away from a constant diet of oratorios and cantatas.

The tone of criticism in different papers and journals naturally varies over time with

changes of critic, and precise identification of authorship is often impossible due to the

9
Appendix 1 contains much material deriving from such sources. The popularity of The Lord is my
shepherd with choirs was clearly quite uninfluenced by a negative review in MMR (see chapter 3, 125-6).
10
Joseph Bennett expressed great reservations about some early Stanford choral pieces, but was
converted to a much more positive view by the Elegiac Ode (1884) and The Three Holy Children (1885),
thereafter extolling the composer as a leader of the Renaissance. Herbert Thompson showed his
enthusiasm for Stanford's music from the outset with a warmly appreciative review of The Revenge
(1886) just after his appointment to the Yorkshire Post.
 264

large number of unsigned articles. Certain general trends can be traced, however: of the

national dailies, The Times and the Telegraph could generally be relied upon for

enthusiastic comment, as could the Guardian and the Athenaeum amongst the weekly

journals. The Pall Mall Gazette and Saturday Review were less predictable. Of the

musical journals, the Musical Times was generally the most likely to carry extensive

reviews (mostly enthusiastic) of the new choral music of Stanford and others. The

Musical Standard and Musical News also provided mostly positive comment, though

the Monthly Musical Record was less predictable, both in its coverage of new works and

in its attitude towards them. As has been stated earlier, the Musical Opinion, with its

primary function as a trade journal, is less valuable as a source of original critical

comment, and for many years contented itself with reprinting reviews from elsewhere.

Academicism, professorism and cleverness

Admiration for Stanford's technical accomplishment is well-nigh universal amongst

those writing or commenting upon his music during his lifetime, and it is frequently

expressed in the most effusive terms: 'masterly skill', 'phenomenal fluency',

'astonishingly clever', 'master of technical means', and 'technical brilliance' are just a

few of the epithets encountered, with endless variations, on a regular basis. Comments

of this type begin early in Stanford's career - his setting of God is our hope and

strength (1877) receives plaudits from several sources, including such references as

'technically perfect' (The Examiner), 'accomplished musicianship' (Cambridge

Chronicle and Musical World, the latter probably by Davison), 'very clever production'

(Gruneisen in the Athenaeum), and 'good and skilful work' (Truth). Only in the last

case is a complimentary comment on technical accomplishment linked to an otherwise

negative view of the music. Praise of this kind continues throughout Stanford's life,

and seems to occur more frequently in connection with his music than with that of his
 265

contemporaries, and quite often in the context of wholly laudatory reviews. From the

mid-1880s onwards, however, constantly reiterated appreciation of his technical

prowess becomes qualified, in the minds of several critics, by doubts concerning the

emotional temperature of some of his music. The first significant occurrence of this

two-sided view appears in some reviews of The Three Holy Children ( 1885), where

Stephen Stratton expresses reservations and doubts in a lengthy, but well-considered

and expressed article in the Birmingham Daily Post (see Chapter 3, 106).

From this point onwards several critics with generally positive views towards

Stanford's music express doubts as to his emotional involvement in some, though not

all ofhis works as they appear. The Voyage of Mae/dune (1889), Eden (1891), and the

Te Deum (1898) all receive comments of this ambivalent type from generally supportive

critics, including Bennett, Frost, Shedlock and Baughan. Even Thompson- surely one

of the most erudite, unbiased and even-handed of critics - points to this weakness in

Stanford's musical persona in the course of a positive review of The Last Post (see

Chapter 4, 199-200). It is important to point out, however, that many references to

impeccable (or 'clever') technique appear in wholly laudatory contexts throughout

Stanford's career, and occasions when a term such as 'clever' can be interpreted as a

negative comment are in a minority.

It is the critics of the 'new' school -notably Shaw, Blackburn and Runciman- who

seem to take the notion of technical 'cleverness' and use it, particularly in Stanford's

case, almost as a stick with which to beat him. Shaw is well-known for his loathing of

cantatas, oratorios, and the musical festivals that encouraged them, for he comments

frequently on the subject. 11 It seems, nevertheless, that he is quite genuine in his

admiration for Stanford's technical accomplishments, but feels strongly that he is so

often wasting these talents on unworthy projects (i.e. cantatas and oratorios). Another
11
See, for example, 'Oratorios and Shams', Wo, 25 June 1890, reprinted in Laurence, Shaw's Music, vol.
2, 96-102.
 266

article by Shaw demonstrates this view very clearly, whilst expressing a desire to see

him more often employed in operatic ventures - in 'The Nautch Girl' he recommends

Stanford as a capable composer for the stage:

Why ... Mr [D'oyly] Carte should have looked to Mr Solomon to replace Sir Arthur [Sullivan] is a
problem which reason cannot solve. The right man, Mr Villiers Stanford, was ready to hand - for I
presume that the composer of the Irish symphony would not disdain to follow in the footsteps of Mozart
any more than Sir Arthur did. He has the technical training and the culture which stood Sullivan in such
good stead; and there must be still alive in him something of the young Irishman of genius who wrote the
spirited Cavalier tunes, not to mention some numbers from The Veiled Prophet, before he was forced
back into the dismal routine of manufacturing impossible trash like The Revenge for provincial festival
purposes .... [My italics] 12

Shaw so frequently infers that Stanford's technical prowess is perhaps linked to the

emotional restraint in much of his music, that he finds it expedient on occasion to state

quite clearly that he is genuinely praising the composer:

The Stanford quartet [no.] in G, Op.44] was exceedingly clever: this I say in praise; for if I am to have
scientific music, I had rather have it cleverly so than stupidly so. And I maintain that Professor Tyndall
himself could not have written a quartet more creditable to the Irish intellect. 13

And again:

The next chamber music concert I was at ... was ... one given by Mr Gompertz, who unearthed a very
good quartet in A minor [no.2, Op.45], by Professor Villiers Stanford, which for some reason had not
been performed in public before in London. It is a genuine piece of absolute music, alive with feeling
from beginning to end, and free from those Stanfordian aberrations into pure cleverness which remind
one so much of Brahms's aberrations into pure stupidity. [My italics] 14

And in praise of Stanford's music to Becket:

He no longer resorts to clever technical trifling to conceal his want of interest in his own work: he now
keeps to the point; ... The mills of the gods have not yet ground his cleverness small enough nor his inner
purpose fine enough to make it wise to claim for him the place among European composers which he is
probably capable of reaching, for he is in some ways a tough, incorrigible subject; but I confess that I am
more than commonly curious to hear what his next symphony will be like. [My italics] 15

It is easy enough to see in much of Shaw's writing how exasperated he becomes

whenever he sees academicism to the fore in new musical works emanating from the

various music college professors. In Stanford's case, in particular, he hopes and pleads

for a freer approach, and rejoices when he finds it. One such occasion is provided by

12
'The Nautch Girl', Wo, 8 July 1891, reprinted in Laurence, Shaw's Music, vol.2, 388-93. It seems a
great pity that there is no written record of Shaw's reaction to Stanford's later operatic ventures,
especially Much Ado and The Critic- two works for which he might easily have waxed enthusiastic.
13
'A Lecture Recital', Wo, 6 December 1893, reprinted in Laurence, Shaw's Music, vol. 3, 55-60.
14
'Ride a Cock Horse', Wo, 21 February 1894, reprinted in Laurence, Shaw's Music, vol. 3, 136-42.
15
'Stanford's Becket', Wo, 11 April 1894, reprinted in Laurence, Shaw's Music, vol. 3, 174-80.
 267

the 'Chicago' ode, East to West, in which Shaw admires the 'tunefulness and bounce'

and evidence of the composer's 'native audacity', while at the same time decrying the

debilitating effect of the 'professorism which is Stanford's bane' (see Chapter 3, 156).

The article continues:

I cry "Professor!" whenever I hear the natural flow of music checked by some crude and wooden
progression, inscrutable in its motive- perhaps an idle experiment in the introduction and resolution of a
discord, perhaps an austere compliance with some imaginary obligation of the sham grammar which is
called scientific harmony, perhaps - and of this I often very grievously suspect Stanford - a forced
avoidance of the vernacular in music under the impression that it is vulgar. 16

As far as Shaw is concerned, it is Stanford's technique that so often gets in the way of

musical expressiveness and depth of meaning.

Shaw's principal protege, John Runciman, also expresses impatience with the whole

English 'music school' set up, sneering at it with some frequency. Writing of a Joachim

recital, he criticises the violinist's interpretation of a Beethoven sonata as follows:

... without compunction [Joachim] takes the solemnly passionate adagio from Beethoven's C minor
sonata (Op. 30, No. 2) at an easy trot, and shakes it down into a movement empty enough to have
emanated from the Royal College of Music or the Leipzig Conservatoire. 17

While a few months later he remarks:

No master ever yet learnt composition at a school; and whatever latent genius there may be amongst
English students is depressed beyond fear of its rising again by the teaching of "sound" professors, with
their ignorant cant and "classical form," their perpetual injunctions to learn to keep rules before breaking
them, their dread and genuine concern lest their pupils should disgrace them by doing something
extravagant or unusual. . . . it would seem that the Academical atmosphere paralyzes the most hopeful
talent. 18

Although Runciman's passionate criticism is not infrequently vitriolic, vindictive

and abusive, there are times, as with his mentor Shaw, when he appears to express quite

genuine appreciation and admiration, as in this review of a Stanford symphony:

It may soon be advisable to take the Philharmonic Society seriously .... now it appears they have induced
Professor Stanford to write them a fresh, virile, manly, and in some ways noble piece of music: a
symphony in D, his fifth, entitled "L' Allegro ed il Pensieroso." This is not to say that Professor
Stanford's fifth symphony matches the great Fifth Symphony. The programme (in the shape of liberal
quotations from Milton's "L' Allegro") provided by the composer, clearly amounts to a confession that in

16
'Concerts and Recitals', Wo, 17 May 1893, reprinted in Laurence, Shaw's Music, vol. 2, 883-90.
17
'Joachim and the Popular Concerts', SatRev, 9 March 1895, 315.
18
'English Music and English Criticism', SatRev, 26 October 1895,410-11.
 268

at any rate three of his four movements his aim was somewhere below the highest; and that is well. We
do not expect the greatest things of music from within sheltering college walls: they are achieved by men
who dare to live freely in the open and drink the cup of life greedily. ... On occasion, as Academics will,
Dr. Stanford has tried the great manner, with results; but here he seems to have said, "Thus I am, thus I
see and feel, thus I will write," and accordingly, by working sincerely, directly, without pretence or
affectation, he has produced an art-work of which that mysterious entity "English music" may well be
proud. Verily, sincerity in art brings a rich reward; but the gods of sham laugh loudly in their tinsel
heaven when their buskined worshippers trip. [My italics] 19

Even here, however, some carping is not avoided, and another opportunity to berate

colleges and academies cannot be resisted.

It is Runciman, too, who sets out at some length the philosophy underlying the

'new' (subjective) style of criticism, contrasting it with the 'old' (objective), in the

Fortnightly Review. 20 During the course of this article, he is surprisingly appreciative of

three critics - Fuller Maitland, Barclay Squire, and Stratton - who, in his opinion,

though not overtly members of the 'new' school, nevertheless express their own

strongly held beliefs and reactions to new music. The 'old' school receive derisive

dismissal, although Bennett is given credit for being honest and honourable.

Shaw's other main disciple, Blackburn (born the same year as Runciman) writes in a

similarly pungent style, expressing admiration for Stanford's technical aplomb while, in

the cases of the Requiem and the Te Deum, castigating him for writing 'inappropriate'

music. The Last Post is dismissed as 'a blare, and a shouting, and a rush' behind which

lies nothing: according to this reviewer, Stanford, despite his 'fine mastery of music'

cannot succeed in 'robust' or 'heroic' subjects. 21 Apart from these three articles,

Blackburn's main criticism of Stanford lies in his outspoken denunciation of the 1894

Bach Choir performance of the St Matthew Passion - an article that caused a

considerable furore (see Chapter 2, 76-9).

19
'Dr. Stanford's New Symphony', SatRev, 30 March 1895,410-11.
20
'Musical Criticism and the Critics', FortRev, vol. 56 (July-December 1894), 170-83.
21
For fuller quotation see Chapter 4, 198-9.
 269

It is certainly significant that all three of these men were ardent Wagnerians,

believing that the true future of music lay in the direction of such Gesamtkunstwerk.

Stanford, on the other hand, with his ambivalent attitude to the German composer, could

never agree with such a view.

By 1907, the year of the Stabat Mater, generally regarded as his finest achievement

in the sphere of large-scale choral music, Stanford's three most vociferous critics were

no longer active: Blackburn was dead, Shaw no longer wrote musical reviews on a

regular basis, and Runciman had ceased to review concerts. Even so, the reviews of this

fine work often make reference to academic complexities, though in order to point out

their absence, and a consequent enhancement of expressive and emotional impact (see

Chapter 4, 209-21).

Stanford himself probably found negative references to technical accomplishment

both puzzling and irrelevant. As far as he was concerned, a secure technical foundation

was a sine qua non for any successful composer, and he did all in his power to ensure

that all his composition pupils acquired the requisite tools of their trade. His success in

this field is amply verified by many of those pupils, whether their relationship with him

had been comfortable or not. 22

What, then, is the consensus of opinion concerning Stanford's choral works during

and immediately following his lifetime? Underpinning almost every written account of

performance or publication is the universal admiration of technical prowess discussed at

some length above. This applies equally to critics both well- and ill-disposed to

Stanford's music, and also to his composition pupils, several of whom refer to the

22
One example of such a testimony comes from one ofhis last pupils, Thomas Wood: 'Ifl could have
gone to him ten years earlier I should have less uncomfortable memories ... He made me angry, he made
me unhappy, he made me rebel, but he taught me my job ... ' [My italics]. Quoted in Rodmell, Stanford,
353.
 270

poised pencil, the ringing of a student error, and the seraphic smile which so often

accompanied the solving of a technical shortcoming. 23 Admiration for his skill in

orchestration is also widespread, and here, the occasional comparisons with other

composers nearly always reflect in Stanford's favour. It is the inspiration and the

emotive feeling behind Stanford's music that is frequently the cause for debate: the

principal bone of contention with Shaw and his followers, and a source of nagging

doubt with many another critic. There is a widely held sense of a certain aloofness and

detachment in Stanford's larger-scale choral works- felt, perhaps, to be the unfortunate

result of an English Gentleman unable to allow himself the slightest vulgarity of

expression. Solid heartiness he achieved in his most successful secular works - The

Revenge and the sets of sea songs, and a certain amount of red-blooded passion is

allowed to shine through in the great Latin works- the Requiem, the Te Deum and the

Stabat Mater. It is surely no accident that these are the very pieces which survived the

composer's lifetime, and are still occasionally revived today. Stanford, it seems, though

he expressed strong passion frequently enough in his conversation and in the written

word, could not bring himself to do so often enough in his music. It was Elgar - the

dark horse who came up, as it were, from behind - who was uninhibited in this respect,

and whose first oratorio - the full-blooded Dream of Gerontius - fired the enthusiasm

of the British public in a way that Stanford's 'mixolydian angels' could not.

Despite lingering doubts as to his true greatness, there were many critics of

Stanford's period who held a very high opinion of him as a choral composer, and who

entertained high hopes of the best of his music surviving into the more distant future.

Overshadowed in his last years by the music of a younger generation of English

composers - many of them his pupils - and unable to comprehend or sympathise with

new approaches to harmony, instrumentation and texture, Stanford died a saddened and

23
'Charles Villiers Stanford by some of his pupils', MusL, July 1924, 193-209.
 271

puzzled man. The fact that a large proportion of his music, like that of so many other

recently deceased composers before and since, subsequently fell into a period of neglect

should not be regarded in any sense as either a just or a final judgement of its quality.

A rediscovery and fresh appraisal of Stanford's choral oeuvre has begun, and it is to be

hoped that the opinions of the composer's contemporaries, outlined in the foregoing

pages, will provide an illuminating backdrop to the reactions of twenty-first century

musicians discovering his music anew.

 Appendix/

CHARLES VILLIERS STANFORD: THE CHORAL MUSIC

List of press references, including reviews and previews of performances and publications, together with a representative selection of advertisements

Key to abbreviations of journal/newspaper titles

Ath Athenaeum
BDG Birmingham Daily Gazette
BDM Birmingham Daily Mail
BOP Birmi~gham Daily Post
CamChr Cambridge Chronicle
CamDN Cambridge Daily News
CamEx Cambridge Express
CamRev Cambridge Review
Choir The Choir
ChMus Church Musician
ChT Church Times
ContRev Contemporary Review
DChr Daily Chronicle
DGr Daily Graphic
DN Daily News
DTel Daily Telegraph
Exam Examiner
Fort Rev Fortnightly Review
GBS George 'Bernard Shaw (in various journals: all references taken from 'Shaw's Music', Bodley Head, 3 vols.)
Graph Graphic
Guard Guardian
Haz Hazell's Annual (all references taken from Lewis Foreman's 'Music in England 1885-1920')
LM Leeds Mercury
ManGuard Manchester Guardian
MusL Music & Letters
MMR Monthly Musical Record
MN Musical News
MO Musical Opinion
MP Morning Post
MS Musicai_Standard
MT MusicalTimes
MW Musical World
O&C Organist and Choirmaster
PMG Pall Mall Gazette

272
SatRev Saturday Review
Strand Strand Musical Magazine
T The Times
WestRev Westminster Review
Wo World
YM Year's Music
yp Yorkshire Post

Key to classification of press references to performances and publications

Unmarked = simple mention of a performance with no qualification or comment on the music or its rendition OR simple mention of publication with no assessment of quality.

A = publisher's advertisement

= mention of a performance with very brief passing comment on the quality of the music or its rendition OR mention of a publication with very brief comment on quality or content.

2 = comments of two or three sentences on performances and/or music OR mention of publication with comments of more than a single word or sentence.

3 = review of medium length (c.S0-1 00 words for performances, c.40-80 words for publications)

4 = a more substantial review with some analytical appraisal or detail (over c.l 00 words for performances, over c.80 words for publications)

5 = 'in depth' review with some detailed analytical appraisal (over c.300 words for performances, over c.200 words tbr publications)

The term 'preview' indicates either a list of works to be performed In a concert or festival, with or without critical comment, or, if referring to an individual work, a mention of that work, with or without
critical comment. The rating awarded to the entry will give some Indication or the detail or any critical or analytical content.

273
 TABLE ONE: SACRED CHORAL WORKS

Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Furtber comments

Die Aufenuehllng (The Resiii'I'CClion) s CumChr 1875 22May 4 I CUMS (Cumbrldge) 21 May 1875 review of perl'ormanc:e
('The Resurrection') MT 1881 I June A advert list of Chappell's VOCIII Library
('The Resurrection') MW 1884 9 Febru~~ty 95 A advel'l lim of Chappell's Vocal Library
('Rise IIIJIIln') Cam Rev 1888 26April 284 Trinity College, Cumbrldge 6May 1888 list of chapel music
('Rise again') Cum Rev 1889 2 May 306-7 di«o 19 May 1889 di«o
('Rise aaain'> Cum Rev 1892 12 May ii ditto 22 May 1892 dido

God is our hope and slmlgth (Psalm 46) 8 CumChr 1877 26 May 8 3 CUMS (Cimbrldgo) 22May 1877 review of first perfonnance
Ellam 1877 26May 662-3 4 ditto di«o ditto
MW 1877 26 May 366 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1877 I June 279-80 3 ditto ditto ditto
MMR 1877 I June 98 di«o ditto mention of first perlbrmanc:e
MT 1877 I June 291·2 s review ofscore
Ath 1878 12 January 64 3 review of IK:Ore
PMG 1881 3June II I London (Richter Concel'l) 30 May 1881 review of performance
Ath 1881 4June 760 3 ditto dillo ditto
MMR 1881 I July 139 I dina dillo dillo
MT 1884 I November A advert for printed score with0p.IO&Op.l2
LM 1904 15 July s 3 Ripon (Cathedral Choirs Festival) 14 July 1904 review of perlbrmance
yp 1904 IS July 9 3 ditto dillo ditto
MT 1904 I August 2 ditto ditto ditto

Service in B llat (Morning, Communion, Evening) I 0 MT 1879 I June 332 A advert (new publications) advert repeated In July and August
MS 1880 I0 January 31 St Paul's Cuthedral, London II January 1880 list of Sunday music
MS 1880 31 January 79 St Patrick's Cathedra~ Dublin I February 1880 list of Sunday music
MT 1884 I November A advel'l for printed score with Op.8 & Op.l2
MN 1908 31 October 392 St Luke's, Chelsea 18 October 1908 list of Sunday music
Evening Sorviee only MN 1893 IOJune 539 St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin I June 1893 report of Choirs Festival
Te Deum & Jubilate only MN 1894 23 June 589 I Winchester Cathedral June 1894 report of Dioc:esan Choirs Festival
Evening Service only O&C 1899 I June 35 St Saviour's, Southwark II May 1899 report of performance with orchestral accompaniment
Nic:ene Creed only MN 1901 II May 450 Liverpool Church Choir Association 30 April 190 I notice of performance
Evening Sorviee only MN 1903 16May 470 I Liverpool Church Choir Association 28 Aprill903 ~~~ounl of Choirs Festival
Morning & Evening Service only MN 1903 23 May 493 Christchurch Cathedral, New Zealand Easter Day 1903 notice of performance
Evening Service only MT 1903 I August 553 A advert for fulls~ore & parts Novello new publications
Jubilate & Benedictus only MT 1903 I September 614 A advert for full score & parts Novello new publications
Evening Sorvice only MN 1906 9 June 590 St Poul's, Liverpool 31 May 1906 notice of Choirs Festival
Evening Service only MN 1907 20Aprll 39S Penshurst Parish Church 12 April1907 notice of performance with orchestra
Evening Service only MN 1909 23 October 384 Basford Parish Church, Nottingham 14 or 11 October 1909 notice of performance
Evening Service only MN 1909 23 October 384 St Mark's, Tenby 3 or I0 October 1909 notice of performuncc
Evening Service only MN 1912 22 June 612 St James, Bin:h·in-Rusholme 16 June 1912 notice of performunce
Evening Service only MN 1912 13 July 40 St Peter's. Baling 30June 1912 notice of performance with ore hcslra

274
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

Evening Serviex~ in A 12 MT 1880 I May 234 St Paul's Cathedral, London 12May 1880 noticv offonh~c:nning servicv to in~lude 'a new Magniflc:at
(Festival of the Sons ofCior8)') and Nune Dimittls' by Stanford
T 1880 13 May II 3 St Paul's Cathedra~ London 12May 1880 report of Festival Service Festivol of the Sons ofCJersy
MW 1880 IS May 307 2 ditto ditto ditto
Guanl 1880 19May 642 2 ditlo ditlo dltlo
MS 1880 22May 323 2 dina ditlo ditto
MO 1880 I June 298-9 3 ditto ditto ditto reprinted from the Tlmea
MT 1880 I June 293-6 2 ditto ditto ditto
MS 1880 ISMay 319 St Paul's Cathedral, London 16May 1880 list of Sunday musi~ first perftmn~e with organ a~p.
MT 1880 I July 364 A advert Novello new publla~tlons
Cam Rev 1880 17 November xxiii Trinity College, Cambridge 21 Novembor 1880 list of ~hapel musi~
MT 1883 I February 104 St Paul's Cathedral 25 January 1883 notice of performaiiCil at Patronal Festival servi~
MT 1884 I November A advert for printed sc:orc with Op.8 & Op.IO
Cam Rev 1884 S November xxix Trinity College, Cambridge 9 November 1884 list of ~hapel musi~
MT 1890 I November 683 Sheffield 20~1890 report of Festival ServiCXl with Edwin Lemare at the organ
MN 1893 28 January 90 I St Paul's Cathedral 23 January 1893 report of porfonnan~e with =hestra (Patronal Festival)
MT 1893 I February 79 I ditlo ditto ditto
MN 1893 II February 124 I ditlo ditto ditto
MN 1893 23 September 264 WofCXlSter Cathedral September 1893 report of perfonnaiiC\l Three Choirs Festival closing servi~e
MN 189S 12 ~Iober 298 Neweastle Cathedral 13? <ktober 189S notiex~ of performaMe with =hestra
MN 1898 24 September 269 I St Thomas, Newcastle 18 Septamber 1898 report of porformance with =bestra
MT 1899 I lktober 669 W=ester Cathedrol September 1899 report of performance Three Choirs Festival opening service
MN 1918 ISMay 168 Sons of Clergy Festival (St Paul's) 8May 1918 report of Festival Servi~e with orehestra
MN 1919 6 Deex~mber 174 St Paul's Cathedral 24 November 1919 report of performaiiCil Worahipl\11 Company of Musicians' ~e

Awake, my heart 16 ON 1881 4 November 3 2 St Paul's Cathedral, London 3 November 1881 review of first performance London Chureh Choir Assoo lotion
DTel 1881 4 November 3 I ditto dittn ditto ditto
Guard 1881 9 November 1610.11 2 ditto ditto ditto ditto
ChT 1881 II November 770 3 ditto ditto ditto ditto
MT 1881 I Deexlffiber 631·2 4 ditto ditto ditto ditto
MO 1881 I Deex~mber 101 2 ditto ditto ditto ditto
Com Rev 1882 6 Deeember 152 2 CUMS, Cambridge 2 December 1882 review of perfonnonce
CamChr 1882 9 DeCXlmber 4 2 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1882 9 December 782 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1883 I January 19 2 ditto ditto ditto
T 1884 27 Moreh 6 2 BIH:h Choir, London 26 March 1884 review of performance
Ath 1884 29 Moreh 418-9 I ditto ditto ditto
MT
MMR
CamRev
1884
1884
1884
I April
I May
5 November
..,
204

xxix
I ditto
ditto
Trinity College, Cambridge
ditto
ditto
9 November 1884
ditto
report of performance
list of chapel music
Cam Rev 1887 27 April 276 ditto IS May 1887 ditto
Cam Rev 1888 8 November 73 ditto II November 1888 ditto
MN 1897 27 February 208 Lincoln's Inn, London 28 February 1897 list of Sunday music
Cam Rev 1897 13 May 336 Trinity College, Cambridge 16May 1897 list of chapel music
MN 1897 17 July 64 Salisbury Cathedral 18 July 1897 list of Sunday music
MN 1912 22June 612 Lincoln Cathedrnl 23 June 1912 ditto

275
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

The Three Holy Childm 22 MW 1884 17Moy 313 previ~ of 1885 Blnningham Festival
MW 1884 29 November 749 report of Binningbam Festival Committee
MT 188S I August 468,476 4 detailed rovl~ of score
MT 1885 I August provi~ of first performanee
MW 188S 8 August 495 previ~ of 1885 Binningham Festival
MP 188S 22 August 3 2 previ~ following rehearsal
MW 1885 29 August 539 3 eommenlllonscore
BOO 1885 29 August s s Binningham Festival 28 Augustl88S revl~ of first perfonnance
BDM 1885 29 August 2-3 4 diuo diuo dillo
BOP 1885 29 August 4·5 5 ditto ditto ditto
ON 1885 29 August 3 3 diuo ditto ditto
DTel 188S 29 August 3 s diuo diuo diuo
MP 1885 29 August s s ditto ditto dilto
PMG 1885 29 August 4 3 diuo diUo ditto
Sa!Rev 1885 29 August 287-8 3 diuo ditto ditto
T 1885 29 August 10 4 diuo diuo diuo
Guard 1885 2 September 1289-90 s diuo ditto diuo
Ath 1885 S September 312 4 ditto dilto ditto
Graph I885 S September 262 3 ditto ditto ditto
MW I885 S September 5SS·1 s ditto ditto ditto
MS I 885 S September 143·5 4 ditto ditto ditto
Sat Rev 1885 S September 315-6 3 ditto ditto diuo
MS 1885 12September 162 2 ditto ditto leiter referring to first perfonnance and offering critical opinion
MMR 1885 I Oetober 221-3 3 dilto dilto review of first perlbnnance
MO 1885 I Oetober 18-19 2 ditlo ditto ditto reprinted from the Spectutor
MO I 885 I Oetober 27-29 4 ditto dilto ditto second article, reprinted from Ath
MT I885 I Oetober 591-2 s ditto diuo dilto
Haz I 885 end of year LF33 I ditto dilto reference to first perfonnance
MT I 885 I November 658-9 3 Binningham 7 OciOber 188S review of second performance
MT I 885 I November 606 Wolverhampton I 6 November 1885 notice of forthcoming performance
ManGuard 1886 26 February 8 s Manchester 25 February I 886 review of performance
MS 1886 6 March 148 3 ditto dilto ditto
MT 1886 I April 211·2 3 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1886 10 April 495-6 3 London Musical Society 7 Aprill886 diuo
DTel 1886 10 April s 3 ditto ditto ditto
Graph 1886 10 April 390 3 ditto ditto diuo
MW 1886 10 April 237 3 ditto ditto ditto
T 1886 10 April s 3 ditto ditto ditto
Guard 1886 14April 542 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1886 I May 274 3 dilto ditto ditto
MT 1887 I April 219 2 Liverpool IS March 1887 ditto
(part only) MT I 887 I November 665 Birmingham festival Choral Society 13 October I1!87 notice of performance
(part only) MN 1894 22 December 539 Worcester Festival Choral Society 4 December I 894 dilto Orchestra led by Elgar
'The heothen shall fenr thy nome' (portl, no.6) MN I 893 30 September 292 St Poul's Cathedral, London I October I 893 list of Sunday music The Three Holy Children, no.6- as anthem
'The heothen shall fear thy name' (part I. no.6) MN 1897 9 October 317 ditto I0 October I897 ditto ditto

276
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

Blessed are the dead - Cam Rev 1887 9 February 196 King's College, Cambridge I 0 February 1887 list of chapel music
Cam Rev 1887 9 February 196 Trinity College, Cambridge 13 February 1887 list of chapel music
Cam Rev 1888 29 November 128 King's College, Cambridge 30 November 1888 list of chapel music Evensong after funeral of Proves! of King's
Cam Rev 1888 29 November 128 King's College, Cambridge 6 December 1888 list of chapel music Founder's Day service
Cam Rev 1889 31 October 40 Trinity College, Cambridge 2 November 1889 list of chapel music

The Lord is my shepherd - MT 1886 1 November 673 3 review of score

MW 1887 S February 99 list of new anthems
MMR 1887 I March 65 3 review of score
Cam Rev 1887 27 April 276 Trinity College, Cambridge 7 May 1887 list of chapel music
CamRev 1889 2 May 306-7 ditto II May 1889 ditto
Cam Rev 1891 S February 188 ditto 7 February 1891 ditto
MN 1897 6 Februwy 136 London,SW 7 February 1897 list of Sunday music St Andrew, Ashley Place, London
MN I897 23 October 364 Salisbury Cathedral 24 October 1897 ditto
MN 1898 29 January 117 London,SW 30 January 1898 ditto St Andrew, Ashley Place, London
yp 1911 21 July 6 I York Minster 20 July 1911 report of service Cathedral Chairs Festival
MN 1911 29 July 104 ditto ditto ditto ditto
MT 1911 I August 526 ditto ditto ditto ditto
MN 1915 23 October 394 Carlisle Cathedral October 1915 notice of performance during Evensong
MT 1915 I December 745 I St Nicholas, Bristol 10 November 1915 report of performance
MN 1920 17April 356 Carlisle Cathedral 18 April 1920 list of Sunday music
MN 1920 17 April 356 Rochester Cathedral 18 Apri11920 ditto
MT 1922 I November 799 Leeds Parish Church October 1922 report of performance during Leeds Festival

0 Praise the Lord of Heaven 1Psalm ISO) 27 MW 1887 16April 300 Manchester Exhibition 3 May 1887 preview of performance
Graph 1887 30April 4SS I ditto ditto ditto
ManOuard 1887 4 May 6 3 ditto ditto review of first performance
MW 1887 7 May 361 3 ditto ditto ditto
MW 1887 7 May 353 3 review of score
MT 1887 l August 491-2 3 ditto ditto
Ath 1888 28July 138-9 2 ditto ditto

Justorum animne 3811 Cam Rev 1888 22 February 216 Trinity College, Cambridge 24 February 1888 list of chapel music

Service in F (Momina. Communion, Evening) 36 MT I889 I December 744 4 review of score

Communion & Evening Service only Cam Rev 1889 28 November 112 Trinity College, Cambridge I December 1889 list of chapel music
Morning & Evening Serviee only CamRev 1890 8 May 311 ditto 8 June 1890 ditto
Communion Service only Cam Rev 1892 27 October 33 ditto 30 OctobQr 1892 ditto
Morning & Evening Service only Cam Rev 1892 I December 115 ditto I DecembQr 1892 ditto
Evening Service only · MT 1925 I August 728 I Salisbury Cathedral I July 1925 report of performance Choirs Festival Evensong

And I suw another angel 37/1 MT 1890 I April 235 I review of score
Cum Rev 1890 30 October 50 Trinity College, Cambridge I November 1890 list of chapel music

277
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(And I saw another angel) (37/1) CamRev 1892 27 October 33 ditto 1 November 1892 ditto
MN 1913 8 November 407 Leytonstonc 31 Oetober 1913 report of performance local Chureb Choir Association

If thou shalt confess 3712 MT 1890 1 April 23~ I review of score

MN 1897 1 May 422 Preston Parish Church 2 May 1897 list of Sunday music
MN 1897 lOJuly 40 St Mary's, Thorpe, Surrey 11 July 1897 ditto

Eden 40 Haz 1890 end of year LF40 mention of'new orntorio' for 1891 Birmingham Festival
ChMus 1891 1 March 41 Birmingham Festival announcement of fU"St performance
MN 1891 6 March 7 ditto ditto
MN 1891 26 June 343 2 Stanford rehearsing In Birmingham
MT 1891 1 July 420-1 2 rehearsal in Birmingham
ChMus 1891 1 August 120 ditto notice of forthcoming first performance
MN 1891 14 August 485-7 1 preview of first performance
MS 1891 12 September 218-9 5 detailed preview of score
MN 1891 18 September 576 Stanford rehearsing In Birmingham
MN 1891 25 September 592 london notice of forthcoming performance by the Royal Choral Society
MMR 1891 1 October 225 preview of Birmingham Festival
MT 189 I I Oetober 598-9 3 preview of score
OChr 1891 1 October s 4 london detailed report of london rehearsal (30 September)
MN 1891 2 Ol:tober 616 4 detailed review of score
MS 189 I 3 Ol:tober 268 Birmingham report of Birmingham rehearsals
MS 1891 3 October 277 news ofthe indisposition ofMme Alhanl
oar 189 I S October 7 2 ditto report of rehearsals, with comments on the placing of the choir
ON 189 I S Ol:tober 2 3 ditto ditto
MN 1891 9 October I news of a replacement soloist for Mme Albani
BOO 1891 8 Ol:tober 6 s Birmingham Festival 7 October 1891 review of first performance
BOM 1891 8 October 2 s ditto ditto diuo
BOP 1891 8 October 8 s ditto ditto dillo
oar 189 I 8 October 11 4 ditto ditto ditto
ON 189 I 8 October 3 4 dillo ditto ditto
DTel 1891 8 October s 3 ditto ditto ditto (first, short notice)
MP 1891 8 October s 4 dillo ditto ditto
ManOuard 1891 8 Ol:tober 8 5 ditto ditto ditto
PMG 189 I 8 October 2 3 ditto ditto ditto
T 1891 8 October 7 5 ditto ditto ditto
OChr 1891 9 October 6 5 ditto ditto ditto
OTel 189 I 9 October 3 5 ditto ditto ditto (second, substantial notice)
MN 1891 9 October 629-30 3 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1891 10 Ol:tober 493 3 ditto ditto ditto (first, short notice)
Graph 1891 10 October 428 s ditto ditto ditto
MS 1891 10 October 286-9 5 ditto ditto ditto
Guard 1891 14 October 1641-2 5 diuo ditlo diuo
GBS/Wo 1891 14 October 111424-9 4 ditto ditlo review of Birmingham Fcstivul

278
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s} Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(Eden) (40) Ath 1891 17 October S2J..S s ditto ditto review of first perfonmmce
SatRev 1891 17 October 445·6 4 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1891 30 October 693 ditto ditto comments on popularity of various works: first perf. of Eden sold out
MMR 1891 I November 245-7 4 ditto ditto review of first perfonnance
MO 1891 I November S4·S s ditto ditto ditto
MT 1891 I November 660-1 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1891 I November 688 A advert for score
MT 1891 I November 694 N3 ditto ditto advert for score quoting extracts from reviews
Cam Rev 1891 12 November 74·5 s ditto ditto descriptive article following first performance
ON 1891 19November 3 3 Royal Choral Society, London 18 November 1891 review of performance
PMG 1891 19 November 2 5 ditto ditto ditto
T 1891 19 November 6 4 ditto ditto ditto
DGr 1891 20 November S 3 ditto ditto ditto
DTel 1891 20 November 3 3 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1891 20November 754 4 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1891 21 November 692 2 ditto ditto ditto
Sat Rev 1891 28 November 612 3 ditto ditto ditto
MMR 1891 I December 278-9 4 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1891 I December 722·3 3 ditto ditto ditto
Haz 1891 end of year LF43-5 3 Birmingham Festival 7 October 1891 brief account of the work as heard at the Binningham Festival
MN 1892 12 February 156 2 Second Birmingham performance 4 February 1892 review of performance
MT 1892 I March 153 3 ditto ditto ditto
MN I 892 26 February 195 3 Hampstead Conservatoire 22 February 1892 ditto concert promoted by Madame Albani
MT 1892 I March ISO 3 ditto ditto ditto dille
LM 1903 I 9 March 6 4 Leeds Philharmonic Society 18 March 1903 ditto
YP 1903 19 March 6 s ditto ditto ditto
MT 1903 I April 264 3 ditto ditto ditto
LM 1909 I December 3 3 Leeds Philharmonic Society 30 November 1909 ditto
YP 1909 I December 9 3 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1909 II December 566 2 ditto ditto dille
MT 1910 I January 43 2 ditto ditto dille

MassinG 46 MN 1893 20 May 463 2 notice of forthcoming first performance with brief description of music
ChMus 1893 I June 102-3 I Brompton Oratory, London 26 May 1893 brief comment on first performance
MN 1893 3 June SIO 3 ditto ditto review of first performance
MT 1893 I July 411 3 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1893 2 September 331 2 review of score
ON 1894 24 January 3 4 Bach Choir, London 23 January I 894 review of performance
DTel 1894 24 January s 4 dill a ditto dille
Cam Rev 1894 25 January 172-3 3 dille ditto description of work following first performance
DGr 1894 25 January s 3 ditto ditto review of performance
Ath 1894 27 January 121 3 ditto ditto ditto
Graph 1894 27 January 87 2 ditto ditto ditto
Guard 1894 31 January 172 4 ditto ditto ditto
GBS/Wo 1894 31 January lll/101-4 3 ditto ditto Shaw speculates on the work's possible qualities (not having heard it)
MT 1894 I February 96-7 3 ditto ditto review of perronnuncc
ChMus 1894 15 February I ditto ditto notice or performance

279
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(Mass in G) (46) MO 1894 I March 357 3 ditto ditto review of performance

MN 1895 12 October 298 I Brompton Oratory, London 6 October 1895 brief mention of performance

I heard a voice from heaven - DTcl 1896 3 February 5 preview of lord leighton's funeral, mentioning Stanford's anthem
(revised version of 'BleSsed arc the dead') T 1896 3 February 7 ditto
DTel 1896 4 February s 2 St Paul's Cathedral, London 3 February 1896 account of leighton's funeral
T 1896 4 February 12 2 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1896 8 February 121 I ditto ditto ditto
MT 1896 I Man:h 192 ditto ditto ditto
DChr 1896 21 August 3 I St Paul's Cathedra~ London 20 August 1896 account of Sir John Millais's funeral
ON 1896 21 August 5 3 ditto ditto ditto
Graph 1896 29 August 267 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1896 29 August 184 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1896 I September 604 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1898 I October 289-90 I Stl'aul's Cathedral, London September 1898 account of Sir George Grey's funeral
MN 1899 30 December 583 St Paul's Cathedral, London 19 December 1899 account of a memorial service
MT 1910 !June 376-7 I Stl'aul's Cathedral, London 20 May 1910 account of memorial service for King Edward VII
MN 1918 190ctober 116 St Paul's Cathedral, London 16 October 1918 account of Sir Hubert Parry's funeral

Service in A (newly completed setting) 12 MT 1896 I December 814 3 review of score with newly written Morning & Communion settings

Requiem 63 MN 1897 21 August title page I preview of Birmingham Festival

MN 1897 25 September title page I ditto
DChr 1897 29 September 3 3 London report of London rehearsal for llrst performance
PMG 1897 30 September 4 4 preview of Birmingham Festival, with brief analysis of score
Ath 1897 2 October 461 I Birmingham report ofi'ehearsal for first performance
ON I 897 5 October 8 2 brief comment on work prior to tirst performance
DTel 1897 S October 7 s detniled analysis of score
BOG 1897 7 October s s Birmingham Festival 6 October I 89 7 review of tirst performance
BDM 1897 7 October 2-3 5 ditto ditto ditto
BOP 1897 7 October 5 s ditto ditto ditto
DChr 1897 7 October 6 s diuo diuo ditto
DGr 1897 7 October 5 3 diuo ditto ditto includes sketch of Stanford in rehearsal
DN 1897 7 October 2 5 ditto ditto ditto
DTel 1897 7 October 10 s ditto ditto ditto
ManGuard 1897 7 October 7 5 ditto ditto ditto
MP 1897 7 October s 5 ditto ditto ditto
PMG 1897 7 October 4 5 ditto ditto ditto
T 1897 7 October 4 5 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1897 9 October 495-6 5 diuo ditto ditto (first article)
SatRev 1897 9 October 386-7 3 ditto ditto scathing dismissal by Runciman
Guard I 897 13 October 1611 5 ditto ditto review of first performance
Cam Rev 1897 14 October 12 2 ditto ditto brief review of work
Ath I 897 16 October 531-2 5 ditto ditto review of first performance (second article)
MN 1897 16 October 326-7 5 ditto ditto article quoting 8 newspn1Jer reviews

280
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type or notice Further comments

(Requiem) (63) MMR 1897 I November 245-6 s ditto ditto review of first performance
MO 1897 I November 89-90 2 ditto ditto ditto (first article)
MO 1897 I November 107 4 ditto ditto ditto (second article)
MT 1897 I November 745-7 4 ditto ditto ditto
Haz 1897 end of year LF56-7 2 ditto ditto brief mention
YM 1897 end of year 150 2 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1897 18 December 862-3 2 RAM, London 16 December 1897 review of performance
MMR 1898 I January 18 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1898 I January 29 3 ditto ditto ditto
MN I 898 12 February 168 Chicago 21 February I 898 notice of performance
DChr 1898 9 March 8 3 Bach Choir, London 8 March 1898 review of performance
DTel 1898 9 March 10 3 ditto ditto ditto
PMG 1898 9 March 4 4 ditto ditto ditto
DN 1898 I 0 March 6 3 ditto ditto ditto
T 1898 10 March 14 3 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1898 12 March 350-1 3 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1898 12 March 257 2 ditto ditto ditto
Guard 1898 16 March 416 4 ditto ditto ditto
MMR 1898 I April 87 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1898 I April 244-5 3 ditto ditto ditto
Haz 1898 end of year LF59 ditto ditto mention of performance
YM 1898 end of year ditto ditto ditto
CamChr 1898 IOJune 8 4 King's College, Cambridge 9 June 1898 review of performance
Cam Ex 1898 II June 5 3 ditto ditto ditto
Cam Rev 1898 16 June 414 3 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1898 18 June 603 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1898 I July 480 2 ditto ditto ditto
LM 1898 I December 6 4 Leeds Philharmonic Society 30 November 1898 ditto
yp 1898 I December 5 4 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1899 I January 45 2 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1899 6 May 466 I Finsbury Chornl Association, London 27 April 1899 brief mention of perlormance
MT 1899 I June 408 2 ditto ditto ditto
YM 1899 end of year 171 ditto ditto ditto
yp I 905 I 0 March 4 4 Dusseldorf 24 February 1905 review with quotation. in translation. from Dii:u·ddorfer Neuc•stc Nachridllwr
MT 1905 I April 242 3 ditto ditto ditto
excerpts only MT 1906 I February 104-5 2 Paris I 0 or 12 January 1906 brief account of concen
MN 1915 27 March 255 mention of work in connection with First World War and llrohms
MN 1915 3 April 276 ditto
MT 1923 I May 345 Mutley Baptist Church, Plymouth 18 March 1923 notice of perfonnnnce
Agnus Dei only Cam Rev 1924 IIJune 438 2 CUMS, Cambridge 13June 1924 notice of performance

Tc Dcum 66 MN 1897 II December 525 2 notice of commission for the 1898 Leeds Festival
MN 1898 9 April 352 list of works for Leeds Festival
MT 1898 I July 473 2 Leeds report of rehearsal for first perfonnance
LM 1898 26 September 3 5 review and analysis of score
DChr 1898 28 September 3 I London report of London rehearsal
MN I 898 I October title page preview of Leeds Festival

281
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(Te Deum) (66) MMR 1898 I October 231 2 brief comment on work prior to frrst performance
yp 1898 4 October 4 3 Leeds commentary on final rehearsal for first performance
DTel 1898 5 October 10 3 ditto preview from rehearsal and score
DChr 1898 7 October 6 4 Leeds Festival 6 October 1898 review of first performance
DGr 1898 7 October 7 5 ditto diuo ditto
ON 1898 7 October 6 3 ditto ditto ditto
DTel 1898 7 October 7 5 ditto diuo ditto
LM 1898 7 October 5 4 ditto ditto ditto
ManGuard 1898 7 October 6 5 diuo ditto ditto
MP 1898 7 October 6 5 ditto ditto ditto
PMG 1898 7 October 3 4 ditto diuo ditto
T 1898 7 October 9 4 ditto ditto ditto
YP 1898 7 October 5 5 ditto ditto ditto
Graph 1898 8 October 488 3 ditto ditto ditto
Cam Rev 1898 13 October 9-10 3 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1898 I 5 October 535-6 5 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1898 15 October 329-30 4 ditto ditto ditto (including analytical note from the Times)
MN 1898 15 October 341-3 5 analysis of score
MMR 1898 I November 245-7 3 ditto ditto review of first performance
MO 1898 I November 92-3 3 ditto dino ditto
MO 1898 I November 91 I ditto ditto additional comment
MT 1898 I November 730-2 3 ditto diuo review of first performance
Haz I 898 end of year LF59 I ditto ditto brief mention
YM I 898 end of year ditto ditto ditto
MMR 1899 I January 1-2 2 ditto ditto mention in review of 1898
PMG 1899 II February 3 3 London (Mme Albani's Concert) I o February 1899 review of perfonnance
Guard 1899 I 5 February 228 3 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1899 18 February 219 I ditto ditto brief mention of performance
MN 1899 18 February 175-6 3 ditto ditto review of performance
MMR 1899 1 Mareh 63 2 ditto ditto brief review of performance
MT 1899 I March 175 2 ditto dilto ditto
MT 1899 I May 316 2 Bridlington Festival 20 Aprill899 ditto
YM 1899 end of year ditto ditto brief mention
MN 1899 22 July 76-7 2 Hovingham Festival 12 July 1899 brief review of performance
MT 1899 I August 545-6 2 diuo ditto ditto
LM 1902 12 February 6 2 Leeds Choral Union II February 1902 brief review of performance
MT 1902 I March 192 I ditto ditto mention of performance
Cam Rev 1902 II June 378 2 Cambridge (Dr Mann's Festival Choir) 5 June 1902 brief review of performance
ManGunrd 1902 28 November 5 4 Manchester (Halle Concert/Richter) 27 November 1902 review of performance
MT 1903 I January 45-6 1 ditto ditto brief mention
ON 1904 7 September 8 3 Gloucester Three Choirs Festival 6 September I 904 review of performance
T 1904 7 September 8 3 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1904 I0 September 358-9 2 ditto ditto brief review of performance
MN 1904 17 September 246 2 ditto ditto ditto
MMR 1904 I October 185-6 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT I 904 I October 657-9 2 ditto ditto ditto
LM 1905 10 March 8 I Halifax Choral Society 9 March 1905 hricf mention of perlormance
YP 1905 10 March 6 2 ditto ditto brief review of perlormance

282
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(Te Deum) (66) MT 1905 I April 269 2 ditto ditto ditto

DTel 1905 26 October II 3 Norwich festival 25 October 1905 review of performance
PMG 1905 26 October 3 3 ditto ditto ditto
T I 905 26 October 4 3 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1905 28 October 585-6 3 ditto ditto ditto
Graph 1905 4 November 598 2 ditto ditto brief review of performance
MN 1905 4 November 385 ditto ditto notice of performance
MMR 1905 I December 223-4 3 ditto ditto review of performance
MT 1905 I December 807 I ditto ditto brief mention
Haz 1905 end of year LF72 ditto ditto notice of performance
MT 1919 I April 185 I Halifax Choral Society 26 February 1919 brief mention of performance

Te Deum in B nat 10 MN 1900 28 April 392 Liverpool (Church Choirs Festival) 25 Apri11900 report of Festival
MT 1902 I June 383 notice of Stanford's Te Deum replacing Smart's at Coronation
MT 1902 I June 387 mention of its orchestration for the Coronation
MN 1902 28 June 621-3 2 account of revisions to score for the Coronation
MMR 1902 I July 134 London report of final choral rehearsal lbr Coronation
MT 1902 I July 487 A advert for fu II score and parts
MT 1902 I August 536 3 review of full score
ON 1902 9 August 3 I Westminster Abbey (Coronation) 9 August 1902 mentioned with comments on plainsong and 'Dresden' Amen
Ath 1902 16 August 230-1 ditto ditto article on the Coronation Service
MT 1902 I September 577-86 I ditto ditto ditto
MN 1902 23 August 161 Canterbury Cathedral 9 August 1902 report of Service celebrating Coronation
MT 1902 I December 809 I comment on full score
MN I 906 I December 514 London (Church Orchestral Society) 22 November 1906 mention of performance
MO 1909 I April 472-3 I article on 'Music in Durham Cathedral'
MN 1910 9 July 32-3 Liverpool Cathedral 29 June 1910 report of consecration of Cathedral Lady Chapel
MN 1910 26 September 308 Ely (Church Congress) 26 September 1910 notice of content of Opening Service
MMR 1911 I July 185 Various (at Coronation celebrations) various comment on use throughout country
MT 1911 I August 525 Brighton Parish Church 25 June 1911 mention of performance
MN 1912 3 August 87-8 I Winchester Cathedral 14 July 1912 report of use at Thanksgiving Service
MN 1918 16November 148 St Paul's Cathedral, London 12 November 1918 report of use at Victory Thanksgiving Service
MT 1919 I August 425 Royal Albert Hall, London 28 June 1919 report of Victory Celebration

The Lord of Might 83 DGr 1903 14 May 8 St Paul's Cathedml, London 13 May 1903 report of Festival of the Sons of Clergy
T 1903 14May II 4 ditto ditto critical comment on the work following first performance
Guard 1903 20 May 740 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1903 I June 392 ditto ditto mention of performance
MT 1906 I March 196 Sheffield 18 February 1906 ditto
MT 1910 I June 393 Sheffield Amateur Musical Society spring 1910 ditto

Arise, shine - MO I905 I November 88 A advert for score

------··-----·------------------------

283
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

Evening Service in G 81 DTel 1907 9 September II Gloucester Cathedral (with orchestra) 8 September 1907 report of Three Choirs Festival
T 1907 9 September 12 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1907 21 September 249-51 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1907 I October 651 ditto ditto ditto

Stabat Mater 96 MN 1907 9 March 229 prospectus of Leeds Festival 1907

MT 1907 I April 237 ditto
LM 1907 3 October 5 2 preview of score
yp 1907 3 October 6 3 London report of London rehearsal for first performance
DChr 1907 4 October 3 3 preview of score
yp 1907 4 October 6 5 detailed analysis of score
MP 1907 9 October 5 preview of Leeds Festival programme
DChr 1907 11 October 6 3 Leeds Festival I0 October 1907 review of first performance
DGr 1907 I 1 October 10 4 ditto ditto ditto
DN 1907 II October 6 s ditto ditto ditto
DTel 1907 II October II 4 ditto ditto ditto
LM 1907 II October s 4 ditto ditto ditto
MP 1907 I I October 6 5 ditto ditto ditto
PMG 1907 I I October 3 s ditto ditto ditto
T 1907 I I October 10 4 ditto ditto ditto
YP 1907 I I October 7 s ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1907 19 October 490 4 ditto ditto ditto
Graph I 907 19 October 550 2 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1907 19 October 341-2 4 ditto ditto ditto (first article)
MN 1907 26 October 366 4 ditto ditto ditto (second artie le)
MN 1907 2 November 390 4 ditto ditto ditto (third article)
MMR 1907 I November 242-3 4 ditto ditto ditto
MO 1907 I November 91-2 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1907 I November 737 3 ditto ditto ditto
Haz I907 end of year LF76 I ditto ditto brief mention
MN 1908 II January 39 I ditto ditto brief mention in review of 1907
DTel 1908 31 January 9 3 Royal Choral Society, London 30 January 1908 review of performance
PMG 1908 31 January 9 3 ditto ditto ditto
T 1908 31 January 12 3 ditto ditto ditto
MO 1908 I February 347-8 comments in Sawyer's 'Stocktaking of English Music'
MN 1908 8 February 128-30 3 ditto ditto review of performance
MT 1908 I March 181 3 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1908 25 April 405 preview of Worcester Three Choirs Festival programme
MN 1908 25 July 73 ditto
DN 1908 II September 6 2 Worcester Three Choirs Festival I0 September 1908 review of performance
DTel 1908 II September 5 3 ditto ditlo ditto
PMG 1908 II September 9 3 ditto ditto ditto
T 1908 II September 13 3 diuo ditto ditto
Ath 1908 19 September 342 I ditto ditto brief mention of performance
MN 1908 19 September 244-7 2 ditto ditto review of performance
MMR 1908 I October 222-3 I ditto ditto brief mention of performance
MO 1908 I October 29-30 ditto diuo ditto

284
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(Stabat Mater) (96) MT 1908 I October 645-7 I ditto ditto ditto

Haz 1908 end of year LF79 I ditto ditto ditto
MN 1910 18 June 644-5 2 Lincoln Festival 9June 1910 review of performance
MO 1910 I July 703-4 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1910 I July 448 3 ditto ditto ditto
T 1913 19 December 12 3 Bach Choir, London (at RCM) 18 December 1913 review of performance
DTel 1913 20 December 8 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1914 I February 118 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1921 I March 198 I Westminster Choral Society, London IS February 1921 brief mention of performance
DTel 1924 26 March 16 4 Westminster Choral Society, London 25 March 1924 review of performance
T I 924 28 March 12 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1925 I May 452 Bradford Festival Choral Society March 1925 mention of performance
MO 1925 I October 31-2 2 Gloucester Three Choirs Festival 8-11 September 1925 review of performance
MT 1925 I October 922-4 I ditto ditto brief mention of performance
MT 1926 I April 360 York Musical Society 24 February 1926 report of performance at an all-Stanford concert

Ave atque vale 114 DChr 1909 3 March I 3 Bach Choir, London 2 March 1909 review of first performance
DGr 1909 3 March 7 2 ditto ditto ditto
DN 1909 3 March 8 3 ditto ditto ditto
PMG 1909 3 March 5 4 ditto ditto ditto
T 1909 3 March II 4 ditto ditto ditto
DTel 1909 4 March 7 4 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1909 6 March 299 2 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1909 13 March 280 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1909 I April 257 2 ditto ditto ditto
Haz 1909 end of year LF83 I ditto ditto mention of performance
MO 1909 I April 490 2 review of score
DTel 1909 13 May 7 I St Paul's Cathedral, London 12 May 1909 mention of performance at Festival of the Sons of Clergy
MN 1909 29 May 582 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1909 I June 378 ditto ditto ditto
Cam Rev 1909 17 June 484-5 3 Cambridge Guildhall (CUMS) II June 1909 review of performance
CamChr 1909 18 June 7 2 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1909 4 September 207 A Stainer & Bell advertisement
MN 1912 10 February 139 A Stainer & Bell advertisement
MT 1921 I April 283 Blackburn 14 February 1921 report of performance
MT 1925 I January 65 Ealing Philharmonic Society. London 6 December 1924 report of performance
MT 1925 1 May 454 Preston Choral Society March 1925 ditto

Six Bible Songs 113 MN 1909 13 March 291 A Stainer & Bell advertisement
MO 1909 I April 490 I brief review of nos. 1-4
MN 1909 22 May 559 A Stainer & Bell advertisement
MO 1909 I June 653 A dilto
MN 1909 4 Seplcmber 207 A diuo
MN 1910 25 June 675 2 review ofnos.5 & 6
MN 1910 5 November 414 3 review ofnos.l-4 'Song of Freedom' only
'Song of Freedom' only MN 1910 26 November 481 Liverpool Church Choir Association 17 November 1910 report ofperfonnancc with associalcd choral hymn

285
Title or work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

'Song of Freedom' only MT 1910 I December 801 ditto ditto ditto

2 only (unspecified) MT 1919 I June 310 Newcastle Cathedral 7 May 1919 mention of performance

Service inC (Morning, Communion, Evening) 115 MN 1909 13 March 291 A Stainer & Bell advertisement
MN 1909 22 May 559 A ditto
MO 1909 I September 861 2 review of score
MN 1909 4 September 207 A Stainer & Bell advertisement
MN 1910 21 May 558 3 review of score
MN 1912 10 February 139 A Stainer & Bell advertisemen
Te Deum only MN 1909 27 November 516 St Paul's Cathedral, London 18 November 1909 report of performance by the London Church Choir Association
Te Deum only MO 1909 I December 387 I ditto ditto ditto
Evening Service only MT I 922 I August 573 W inchesler Cathedral 13 July 1922 report of performance at the Southern Cathedrals Festival

For all the Saints - MN 1909 !3 March 291 A Stainer & Bell advertisement
MN 1910 6 August 127 A ditto
MT 1915 I November 666 St Peter's, Harrogate 6 October 1915 mention of performance
MN 1918 16 November 156 Truro Cathedral 17 November 1918 list of Sunday music

0 Jiving will - MN 1909 13 March 291 A Stainer & Bell advertisement

MN 1910 6 August 127 A ditto
MT 1924 I August 748 Christ Church, Oxford 15 June 1924 report of performance on hall staircase

Benedictus & Agnus Dei in F - MN 1909 22 May 559 A Stainer & Bell advertisement
MO 1909 I June 658 A advert for new church music
MN 1909 4 September 207 A Stainer & Bell advertisement
MN 1910 18 June 647 2 review of score
MO 1910 I August 800 A Stainer & Bell advertisement

Come, ye thankful people, come 120 MN 1910 16June score published as a supplement
MN 1910 15 October 340 I notice in review section
MN 191 0 29 October 396 Shoreham-on-Sea (Harvest Festival) 2 October 1910 mention of performance

Benedictus & Agnus Dei in B flat - MO 1910 I August 800 A Stainer & Bell advertisement
MN 1910 27 August 187 A ditto

Ye choirs of new Jerusalem 123 MN 1911 28 January 87 A Stainer & Bell advertisement
MN 1912 10 February 139 A ditto
MN 1912 II May 446 I brief review of score

286
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type ofnotlce Further comments

'Coronation' Gloria in B flat 128 MN 1911 I April 305 mentioned in list of Coronation music
MN 1911 29 April 413 A Stainer & Bell advertisement
MO 1911 I May 572 A ditto
MN 1911 20 May 493 A advertisement for Coronation Service Book
MN 1911 27 May 522 I review of Coronation Service Book
MMR 1911 I June title page 2 ditto
MT 1911 I June 382 2 ditto
DTel 1911 17 June 15 I preview of Coronation music
T 1911 17 June 11-12 2 ditto
T 1911 23 June IS I Westminster Abbey (Coronation) 22June 1911 account of Coronation Service
MN 1911 24June 611-12 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1911 I July 23 2 ditto ditto ditto
MMR 1911 I July title page I ditto ditto ditto
MT 1911 I July 443-7 2 ditto ditto ditto
MO 1911 I October 65 I review of version with organ
Haz 1911 end of year LF87 ditto ditto brief mention
MN 1912 II May 446 I review of score

Festal Communion Service (incl Gloria, above) 128 MN 1911 23 September 257 A Stainer & Bell advertisement
MN 1912 10 February 139 A ditto
MO 1912 I May 595 I brief review of score

Psalm 150 (chant setting) - MT 1911 I November 744 A in list of new Novello publications
MN 1912 I June 534 I review of New Cathedral Psaher

Blessed City, heavenly Salem 134 Choir 1913 May 96 2 review of score
MN 1914 10 January 40 2 ditto

Three Motets (Ye holy angels bright; 135 MN 1913 2 August 97 Stainer & Bell advertisement
Eternal father; Glorious' and powerful God) MO 1913 I September 940 2 review of scores
Choir 1913 November 214 2 ditto
Ye holy angels bright (only) MN 1913 23 August 149 preview of Gloucester Festival programme
ditlo Ath 1913 II September 291 I Gloucester Three Choirs Festival II September 1913 report of performance
dillo DChr 1913 12 September 7 2 ditto ditto review of performance
ditto DTel 1913 12 September 8 I ditto ditto brief review of performance
ditto MP 1913 12 September 6 3 ditto ditto review of performance
ditto PMG 1913 12 September 5 I ditto ditto brief review of performance
ditto T 1913 12September 4 3 ditto ditto review of performance
ditto MN 1913 20 September 236-8 I ditto ditto article on Gloucester Festival
ditto MO 1913 I October 19 ditto ditto ditto
ditto MT 1913 I October 664-6 I ditto dino ditto
ditlo MT 1921 I April 286 Gloucester Choral Society 24 February 1921 mention of performance
ditto MT 1925 I May 451 Sale & District Musical Society 22 March 1925 ditto
Glorious and powerful God (only) MT 1925 I April 344 Clapham Congregational Church II March 1925 mention of concert perlormance

287
Title or work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

St Patrick's Breastplate. - MT I 925 I September 828 Torquay (choir recital) 9 August I 925 mention of performance

For lo, I mise up 145 MT 1940 I February 68 2 review of score

MO 1940 I March 256 3 ditto

Aviators' Hymn - MO I 917 I August 680 mentioned in review column

MN 19 I 7 29 September 197 2 review of score
Choir 1918 February 39 2 ditto

Mass 'Via Victrix' (Gloria only) 173 CamChr I 920 16 June 5 2 King's College, Cambridge 15 June 1920 review of performance conducted by Stanford
CamDN I 920 16 June 3 2 ditto ditto diuo
CamRev 1920 18 June 426 ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1920 I July 489 diuo ditto ditto

Morning Service in G (for congregation or - MO 1921 I October 61 A advertisement

small choirs)

Jesus Christ is risen today 19213 MT 1923 I February Ill 2 review of score
MO 1923 1 May 765 3 ditto

Lo! He comes with clouds descending 19211 MT 1923 I December 843 2 review of score
Choir I 924 February 39 in list of new music
MO 1924 I March 607 4 review of score

While shepherds watched their flocks 19212 MT 1923 I December 843 2 review of score
Choir 1924 February 39 in list of new music
MO 1924 I March 607 4 review of score

Service in D (Morning, Communion, Evening; - MT 1923 I August 561 I brief review of score
Unison) MO 1923 I September 1152 3 review of score
Choir 1923 November 219 in list of new music

How long wilt thou forget me? - MT 1929 I September 826 I brief review of score

288
 TABLE TWO: SECULAR CHORAL WORKS

Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

To Chloris ('Madrigal') - Cam Rev 1880 26 May 121 2 CUMS Concert, Cambridge May 1880 review of performance

Three Cavalier Songs 17 Cam Rev 1881 7 December 117 I CUMS Concert, Cambridge December 1881 report of concert including only one of the Cavalier Songs
MT 1882 I April 219 4 review of score
Cam Rev 1882 26 April 264 2 CUMS Concert, Cambridge 22 March 1882 review of performance
Cam Rev 1890 13 November 74 2 Cambridge Concert 12 November 1890 ditto
GBS/Wo 1893 17May 11/885 2 glowing reference in discussion of other works
DGr 1894 10 May 4 I Bach Choir, London 8 May 1894 review of concert
Ath 1894 12 May 622 I ditto ditto ditto
Graph 1894 12 May 567 ditto ditto mention of performance
Ath I899 21 October 562-3 Sheffield Festival 13 October 1899 ditto
MMR 1901 I May Ill I Dublin 26 March 1901 ditto
MT 1904 I March 184 I Crystal Palace, London 6 February I904 ditto
MT 1906 I December 830 Southport Festival 25 October 1906 ditto
MT 1907 I January I Norton Lees Choral Society, Sheffield 13 December 1906 ditto
MN 1908 II April 348 Queen's Hall, London 4 Aprill908 ditto (Edward Mason's Choir)
MN 1909 6 February 137 Belfast 22 January 1909 ditto
MT 1913 I December 818 South London Musical Club 28 October 191 3 ditto

Elegiac Ode 21 MT 1884 I February 93 Norwich Festival notice of forthcoming Festival including 'new cantabl' by Stanford
MT 1884 I July 408 ditto notice of forthcoming Festival including Elegiac Ode
MS 1884 12 July 7 ditto ditto
MT 1884 I September 520 ditto ditto
DTel 1884 16 October 3 5 Norwich Festival I5 October 1884 review of first performance
MP 1884 16 October 5 4 ditto ditto ditto
T 1884 16 October 6 5 ditto ditto ditto
DN 1884 17 October 3 5 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1884 18 October 504-5 4 ditto ditto ditto (first article)
Graph I 884 18 October 407 3 ditto ditto ditto
Guard 1884 22 October 1593-4 5 ditto ditto ditto
Ath I 884 25 October 535 4 ditto ditto ditto (second article)
MS 1884 25 October 242 2 ditto ditto ditto
SatRev 1884 25 October 529-30 4 ditto ditto ditto
MMR 1884 I November 249-50 3 ditto ditto ditto
MO 1884 I November 63 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1884 I November 633-4 4 ditto ditto ditto
MO 1885 I February 223-4 2 ditto ditto review of 1884 music: Stan lord's true qualities shown in the work
Ath 1885 21 March 385 3 CUMS Concert, Cambridge 13 March 1885 review of performance
MS I 885 21 March 182-3 4 ditto diuo ditto
MO 1885 I April 333 3 diuo diuo dillo
MT 1885 I April 207-8 3 ditto ditto ditto
Cam Rev 1885 29 April ci 4 ditto ditto ditto
PMG 1888 2 March 5 2 Bach Choir, London I March 1888 review of performance

289
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(Elegiac Ode) (21) DN 1888 3 March 6 ditto ditto mention of performance

DTel 1888 3 March 3 2 ditto ditto review of performance
T 1888 3 March 6 I ditto ditto review of concert
Ath 1888 10 March 315-6 2 ditto ditto review of performance
SatRev 1888 I 0 March 290-1 1 ditto ditto review of concert
MMR 1888 I April 91 3 ditto ditto review of performance
MT 1888 I April 218 2 ditto ditto ditto
LM 1904 4 March 4 2 Halifax Choral Society 3 March 1904 review of performance
yp 1904 4 March 8 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1904 I April 259 I ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1904 I October 663 Middlesbrough 1904·5 Season notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1906 I January 56 I Lincoln 28 November 1905 report of performance
MT 1907 I June 402 Reading 24 Aprill907 ditto

The Revenge 24 MO 1886 I July 467 2 Leeds June 1886 Stanford's warm reception at rehearsal
MT 1886 I August 466 programme of forthcoming Leeds Festival
MS 1886 14 August 100 ditto
MT I 886 I October 577-9 3 description of score
MT 1886 I October 617 A advertisement for score
DTel 1886 8 October 3 3 preview of score
MP 1886 12 October 5 I preview of Festival programme
DN 1886 15 October 3 5 Leeds Festival 14 October 1886 review of first performance
DTel 1886 15 October 3 3 ditto ditto ditto
LM 1886 15 October 5 4 ditto ditto ditto
MP 1886 15 October 5 3 ditto ditto ditto
T 1886 I 5 October 10 5 ditto ditto ditto
YP 1886 I 5 October 5 5 ditto ditto ditto
Cam Rev 1886 20 October 17 2 ditto ditto ditto
Guard I 886 20 October 1554-5 4 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1886 23 October 541 4 ditto ditto ditto
Graph I 886 23 October 435 1 ditto ditto mention of performance
MS 1886 23 October 256-7 2 ditto ditto review of first performance
MMR 1886 I November 246-8 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1886 I November 653-7 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1886 I November 696 A advertisement for score, including comments from 6 papers
Haz 1886 end of year LF34 I ditto ditto brief mention of performance
MT 1887 I January 37 I Bristol II December 1886 report of performance
MT 1887 I January 39 2 Glasgow 14 December 1886 ditto
DN I 886 I 5 December 3 3 London (Novello Oratorio Concert) 14 December 1886 review of performance
DTel I 886 16 December 3 3 ditto ditto ditto
T 1886 16 December 7 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1887 I January 20-1 4 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1887 I January 39 Glasgow ChomiiJnion (repeat) 21 or 23 December 1886 report of perfom1ance
DN 1887 20 January 3 2 Royal Albert Hall, London 19 January 1887 report of performance (RAH Choral Society)
T 1887 20 January 10 I ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1887 22 January 137 I ditto ditto ditto
MMR 1887 I February 42-3 I ditto ditto ditto

290
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(The Revenge) (24) MT 1887 I february 84 2 ditto ditto ditto

MT 1887 I March 151-2 2 Crystal Palace, London 12 february 1887 report of performance
MT 1887 I July 420-1 2 Cowley, Oxford 27 Apri11887 report of four performances in Oxford within two months
MT 1887 I July 420-1 2 Merton College, Oxford 26 May 1887 ditto
MT 1887 I July 420-1 2 Keble College, Oxford 16 June 1887 ditto
MT 1887 I July 420-1 2 Oxford Philharmonic Society 20 June 1887 ditto
MT 1887 I June 346 I Hampstead Choral Society, London 2 May 1887 report or performance
Cam Rev 1887 15 June 392 3 CUMS Concert, Cambridge 7 (or 9?) June 1887 review of performance
MT 1887 I July 411-12 ditto ditto report of performance
MMR 1887 I October 231-3 I Worcester Three Choirs festival September 1887 ditto
MT 1887 I December 740 2 Huddersfield Music festival 2 November 1887 ditto
MT 1887 I December 740-1 I Bradford 7 November 1887 ditto
MT 1888 I January 50 Burnley Vocal Union 14 December 1887 ditto
MT 1888 I March 169 I Leeds Philharmonic Society I february 1888 ditto
MT 1888 I March 155-6 2 Birmingham festival Choral Society 9 february 1888 ditto
MT 1888 I August 471 I Chester Festival' 25 July 1888 ditto
MT 1889 I March 150 I Windsor (Eton College Music Society) 23 February 1889 report of performance
MW 1889 2 March 140 ditto ditto ditto
MW 1889 28 December 937-8 I Birmingham December 1889 ditto
GBS/Star 1890 16 May 11/65-9 4 Bach Choir, London 10 May 1890 forcible opinion expressed in article entitled 'Gas and Gaiters'
MW 1890 17 May 395 I ditto ditto report of performance
MW 1890 24 May 415 I Hampstead Conservatoire, London 21 May 1890 ditto
MW 1890 13 December 997 I Streatham Choral Society, London 8 December 1890 ditto
MN 1891 10 April 106 Liverpool April 1891 ditto
MT 1891 I October 596 Finsbury Choral Association, London 28 Apri11892 notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1891 2 October 614 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1892 6 May 436 I ditto ditto report of performance
MN 1892 27 May 517 I Bristol Choral Society 18 May 1892 ditto
MO 1892 I March 238 Cardiff Festival programme of forthcoming Cardiff Festival
MN 1892 22 July 80 ditto notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1892 16 September 268 ditto ditto
MN 1892 23 September 292 I ditto September 1892 report of performance
Ath 1892 24 September 426 2 ditto ditto ditto
MO 1892 I October 17 2 ditto ditto ditto (condensed from the Stmrdard)
MN 1892 II November 465-7 ditto ditto article on successive Cardiff festivals mentioning this performance
MN I 892 2 December 532 I South London Choral Association November 1892 report of performance
MN 1893 4 March 205 I Nottingham 23 February 1893 ditto
MN 1893 4 March 195 2 comment from unspecified provincial paper
MN 1893 22 April 371 Wrexham Musical Society l0Aprill893 report of performance
MN 1893 29 April 391 Farnham Choral Society 12 Aprill893 ditto
MN 1894 24 February 180 Birmingham festival Choral Society february 1894? ditto
MN 1895 23 March 269 Harrow, London 15 March 1895 ditto
MT 1895 I June 399 2 Bishop Auckland 23 April 1895 ditto
MN 1895 4 May 418 Caterham Choral Society 24 April 1895 ditto
MN 1895 l May 511 Oundle Choral Society 8 May 1895 notice of forthcoming perfonnance
MN 1895 2 March 194 Brighton & Hove Choral Society 5 December 1895 notice of forthcoming performance in 'Stanford' Concert
YM 1895 end of year 340 ditto ditto mention of performance
YM 1896 end of year 185 Dublin Musical Society 27 February 1896 ditto

291
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(The Revenge) (24) MN 1896 28 March 302-3 I Newcastle/Gateshead Choral Society 20 March 1896 report of performance
YM 1896 end of year 40 Highbury Philharmonic Society 19 November 1896 mention of performance
MN 1896 26 December 561 I Bradfield College, Berkshire 19 December 1896 report of performance
ManGuard 1897 22 January 6 4 Manchester (Halle Concert) 21 January 1897 review of performance
MN 1897 30 January 109 I ditto ditto report of performance
MN 1897 6 February 132 2 Nottingham Sacred Harmonic Society 28 January 1897 ditto
YM 1897 end of year 166 Eating Choral Society, London early 1897 mention of performance
MN 1897 3 April 324 St Albans Oratorio Society 25 March 1897 report of performance
YM 1897 end of year 190 ditto ditto mention of performance
YM 1897 end of year 182 Sidmouth Choral Society 14May 197 ditto
MN 1897 21 August 169 Sheffield Musical Union 1897/8 season notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1898 30 April 431 Strabane, County Tyrone 22 Aprill898 report of performance
YM 1898 end of year 164 Bermondsey 23 April1898 mention of performance
MN 1898 7 May 456 Runcom Philharmonic Society April/May 1898 report of performance
MN 1898 26 March 311 Hovingham Festival 29 June 1898 notice of forthcoming performance
LM 1898 30 June 5 3 ditto ditto review of performance
yp 1898 30 June 6 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1898 I August 541 I ditto ditto report of performance
YM I898 end of year 310 ditto ditto mention of performance
YM I898 end of year 204 Bury Choral Society 5 December 1898 ditto
YM 1898 end of year 164 Bermondsey, London 8 or I 5 December 1898 ditto
MN I 898 31 December 618 I ditto ditto report of performance
MN 1899 II February 155 Glasgow spring 1899 notice pf forthcoming performance
MN 1899 18 February 177 Worcester 24 January 1899 report of performance
YM 1899 end of year 205 Warrington Musical Society 8 February 1899 mention of performance
MN 1899 II March 261 I Bishopsgate Institute, London 2 March 1899 report of performance
MN 1899 22 April 426 Weston-super-Mare 13 Apri11899 ditto
MT 1899 I June 408 2 Finsbury Choral Association, London 27 Apri11899 ditto
YM 1899 end of year 171 dilto ditto mention of performance
MN 1899 13 May 503 Dover Choral Union 3 May 1899 report of performance
MN 1899 13 May 503 Bristol (StMary's Church Choral Soc.) 5 May 1899 ditto
MT 1902 I January 53 I Barnstaple, Devon 2 December 190 I ditto
MT 1902 I January 45 I Gloucester Choral Society 19 December 1901 ditto
MT 1902 I March 195 I Dudley Vocal Union 5 February 1902 ditto
MT 1902 1 April 265 I Harrogate Choral Society 14March 1902 ditto
MT 1902 I June 409 Heeley Wesley Choral Soc., Sheffield 8 May 1902 ditto
Cam Rev 1902 II June 378 I CUMS Concert, Cambridge 3 June 1902 ditto
MT 1903 I January 52 Dunston Chora I Union 4 December I902 ditto
MMR 1903 I May 95 Sheffield Choral Union 28 March 1903 ditto
MT 1903 I May 332 Cirencester 14 April1903 ditto
MT 1903 I June 412 I Battle, Sussex 7 May 1903 ditto
MT 1904 I January 48 Auckland Musical Society December 1903 diuo
MT 1904 1 March 191 Monmouth 9 or I0 February 1904 ditto
MT 1904 I March 187 I Glasgow 19 February 1904 ditto
MT 1904 I April 259 Uull Harmonic Society 18 March 1904 ditlo
MT I905 I January 50 Leeds 23 November 1904 ditto
MT 1905 I January 52 I Hawarden I 7 December 1904 ditto
MT 1904 I November 740 Berrnondsey 1904/5 season notice of forlhcoming performance

292
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(The Revenge) (24) MT 1904 I November 737 Edinburgh University Musical Society 1904/5 season ditto
MT 1904 I November 739 York 1904/5 season ditto
MT 1905 I March 195 Luton Choral Society 8 February 1905 report of performance
MT 1905 I April 270 Bruton Choral Society 2 March 1905 ditto
MT 1905 I April 264 Edinburgh University Musical Society 3 March 1905 ditto
MT 1905 I May 337 I Port-Glasgow 29 March 1905 ditto
MT 1906 I January 55 I Cape Town, South Africa 30 October 1905 ditto
MT 1906 I January 50 Leeds 23 November 1905 ditto
MT 1906 I January 53 Bradford 25 November 1905 ditto
MT 1906 I January 46 2 St Margaret's, Westminster, London 28 November 1905 ditto
T 1905 8 December 4 2 Royal Choral Society, London 7 December I905 review of performance
MT I906 I January 46 2 ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1906 I Janunry 57 I Westcliff-on-Sea 9 December 1905 ditto
MT 1906 I January 51 Nottingham 12 December I905 ditto (West Bridgeford Choral Society)
MT 1906 I January 52 Beighton, Sheffield Nov/Dec 1905 ditto
MT 1905 I October 672 Leicester 1905/6 season notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1906 I February 128 I Uxbridge, London I 0 January 1906 report of performance
MT 1906 I April 262 Stroud Green Choral Society 26 February 1906 ditto
MT 1906 I April 273 I Wells, Somerset 27 February 1906 ditto
MT 1906 1 June 413 Clevedon, Somerset 9May 1906 ditto
BDG 1906 6 October 4 I Birmingham Festival 5 October 1906 brief review of performance
BOP 1906 6 October 9 3 ditto ditto review of performance
Ath 1906 I3 October 450-I I ditto ditto report of Festival
MMR 1906 I November 242-3 I ditto ditto ditto
Haz I906 end of year LF74 ditto ditto mention of performance
MT 1906 1 November 765 Painswick, Gloucestershire I906/7 season notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1907 I January 48 I Norton Lees Choral Society, Sheffield 13 December 1906 report of performance
MT 1907 I June 403 St Austell, Cornwall 6 February 1907 ditto
MT 1907 I April 256 I Birmingham 23 February 1907 ditto
MT 1907 I April 265 Swindon I3 March 1907 ditto
MT 1907 I April 264 Chatbum, Lancashire 18 March 1907 ditto
MT 1907 I June 401 1 Nottingham University 23 April 1907 ditto
MT 1907 I June 406 Rugby 16 May 1907 ditto
MT 1907 I June 400 Weston-super-Mare 16 May 1907 ditto
MT 1908 1 January 43 Bristol 30 November 1907 ditto
MT 1908 1 February 118 Cape Town, South Africa 5 December 1907 ditto
MT 1908 1 January 52 Dudley Choral Society II December 1907 ditto
MT 1908 I June 407 Dover Choral Union 26 April 1908 ditto
MT 1908 I June 408 Leominster Choral Society 13 May 1908 ditto
MN 1908 I 0 October 320 South Shields Choral Society 9 December 1908 notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1908 26 December 593 Chigwell School, Essex 18 December 1908 report of performance
MT 1909 I April 262-3 Edinburgh Choral Union I March 1909 ditto
MN 1909 8 May 501 Chiswick, London 20 Apri I I909 ditto (Askew Road Wesleyan Church)
MT 1909 I May 328 ditto ditto ditto (Askew Road Wesleyan Church)
MN 1909 3 July 8-9 Chiswick, London 24 June 1909 ditto (Askew Road Wesleyan Church)
MT 1910 I January 47 Eltham Choral Society I3 December I 909 ditto
MT 1910 I March 186 Valetln, Malin 10 Febntary 1910 ditto
MN 1910 12March 272 Boumemouth March 1910 ditto

293
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type or notice Further comments

(The Revenge) (24) MN 1910 26 March 308 llkley Vocal Society 17March 1910 ditto
MT 1910 I April 257 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1910 16April 380 Deddington Musical Society 28March 1910 ditto
MT 1910 I May 331 I Skegness Musical Society 31 March 1910 ditto
MN 1910 16 April 394 I Bristol Choral Society 6 Apri11910 ditto
MT 1910 I May 3121321 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1910 I May 321 Clevedon Philharmonic Society 6 Apri11910 ditto
MT 1910 I May 312 Birmingham II Apri11910 ditto (Acocks Green Choral Society)
MT 1911 I February 126 2 Penrith 7 December 191 0 ditto
MN 191 0 24 December 580 Berkhamsted School, Hertfordshire 17 December 1910 ditto
MT 1911 I January 49 ditto ditto ditto date noted as I 0 December
MT 1911 I February 125 Ferry Hill Choral Society late 1910/early 1911 ditto
MT 1911 I February 126 2 Milford-on-Sea 18 January 1911 ditto
MT 1911 I March 197 Relford Choral Society, Lines. 17 February 1911 ditto
MT 1911 I April 260 Felixstowe Choral Society early 1911 ditto
MT 1911 I April 267 Rhyl Choral Society early 1911 ditto
MT 1911 I May 332 I Worthing Choral Society 22 March 1911 ditto
MT 1911 I May 326 I Edinburgh 29 March 1911 ditto
MT 1911 I May 323 I Streatham Hi II Choral Society 4 Apri11911 ditto
MT 1911 I June 404 I Rye Choral Society 2Mayl911 ditto
MN I91 I 9 December 552 New Choral Society, Leeds 29 November 1911 ditto
MT 1911 I December 815 Windsor 1911112 season notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1912 10 February 132 Horsham Musical Society 25 January 1912 report of performance
MT 1912 I March 191 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1912 I Mnrch 190 Chippenham Choral Society 14 February 1912 ditto
MT 1912 I March 186 I Longhope Choral Society, Gloucester 16 February 1912 ditto
MT 1912 I May 336 I Milford-on-Sea Choral Society 17 Aprill912 ditto
MN 1912 4May 420 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1912 27May 410 Bristol Choral Society 20 April 1912 ditto
MT 1912 !June 403 Maidstone 30 Aprill912 ditto
MN 1912 28 September 259 Sunderland November 1912 ditto
MT 1913 I January 51 Hythe Choral Society, Kent 20 November 1912 ditto
MT 1912 I October 669 Walton, Liverpool 12 December 1912 notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1912 21 December 554 ditto (Walton Philharmonic Society) ditto report of performance
MT 1913 I February 116 I Harpenden Musical Society, Herts. I 7? December 1912 ditto
MN 1913 18January 55 Putney Wesleyan Choir, London 9 January 1913 ditto
MT 1913 I February 116 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1913 I March 198 mentioned in humorous article 'Our Choral Society'
MT 1913 !June 401 I Nottingham University 17 Aprill913 report of performance
MT 1913 I June 403 Okehampton Choral Society 23Aprill913 ditto
MT 1913 I June 403 Waking Musical Society April/May 1913 ditto
MN 1913 20 September 239 fulham & District Choral Society Winter 1913114 notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1914 I January 54 Borrowash Choral Society, Nottingham I December 1913 report of performance
MT 1914 I January 57 Newport, Isle of Wight 10 December 1913 ditto
MN 1913 20 December 544 Favcrsham, Kent II December 1913 ditto
MT 1914 I March 191 Clifion Choral Society, Bristol 5 february 1914 ditto
MN 1914 25July 66 Cardiff festival Autumn 1914 notice of forthcoming performance; Festival subsequently cancelled
MT 1914 I December 710 Bristol Choral Society 28 October 1914 report of performance

294
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(The Revenge) (24) MT I914 1 December 714 Oldham Musical Society October/November 1914 ditto
MT 1915 I January 45 I Glasgow Bach Choir 20 November 1914 ditto
MT 1915 !January 49 Newcastle & Gateshead Choral Union 25 November 1914 ditto
MT 1915 l March 170 Canning Town, London 6 February 1915 ditto
MN 1915 lOApril 299 2 Leeds Philharmonic Society 24 March 1915 ditto
MT 1915 l May 305 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1915 I May 303-4 Manchester Vocal Society 24 March 1915 ditto
MT 1915 l May 304 Sheffield 25 March 1915 ditto
MT 1915 I May 302 Barnstaple, Devon 12 Apri11915 ditto
MT 1915 1 June 367 1 Liverpool 24 Aprill915 ditto
MT 1915 1 June 369 Wesleyan Central Hall, London iS May 1915 ditto
MN I 915 23 October 393 Darlington unknown mention of work in rehearsal
MT 1916 !January 31 Greenwich, London II Decemberl915 report of performance
MT 1916 I January 41 Birmingham II December 1915 ditto
MT 1916 I February 108 I Royal Choral Union, Edinburgh 3 January 1916 ditto
MT 1916 I February 113 l Oxford 15 January 1916 ditto (Oxford House Choral & Orchestral Society)
MT 1916 1 April 215 I Halifax Choral Society 9 March 1916 ditto
MT 1916 1 November 518 Sheffield Amateur Musical Society December 1916 notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1917 1 January 41 2 ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1917 1 February 88 Ealing Choral Society, London 10 December 1916 ditto
MT 1917 l October 473 Christchurch, New Zealand 26June 1917 ditto
MT 1918 1 June 278 The Leys School, Cambridge March/Apri I 1918 ditto
MT 1919 1 April 186 Potteries Choral Society, Hanley February 1919 ditto
MT 1919 1 December 710 Stockton 18 December 1919 notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1920 l February 126 1 ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1919 1 December 710 Darlington Choral Society 2 February 1920 notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1920 1 March 199 ditto ditto report of performance
MO 1920 I March 441 I Birmingham Festival Choral Society 4 February 1920 ditto
MT 1920 I March 196 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1920 I April 271 Looe Choral Society, Cornwall I2 February 1920 ditto
MT 1920 I April 278 Pontardawc, Swansea 13 February 1920 ditto
MT 1920 I April 278 Cardiff 6 March 1920 ditto
MT 1920 1 April 277 I Nottingham Philharmonic Society 6 March 1920 ditto
MN 1920 3 January 9 Victory Choir, Basingstoke 15 April 1920 notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1920 I February 105 ditto ditto ditto
MO 1920 I May 631 1 ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1920 I May 330 diuo ditto ditto
MN 1920 I May 393 Dover Choral Union 21 April 1920 ditto
MT 1920 I June 403 I Leeds 28 Aprill920 ditto
MO 1921 I January 320 I Rugby 8 December 1920 ditto
MT l 920 I October 691 Dulwich Philharmonic Society 1920/21 season notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1920 I December 841 l·loniton, Devon 1920/21 season ditto
MT 1921 I May 364 Beer Choral Society, Devon 8 April1921 report of performance
MO 1921 I March 500 Aberystwyth Choirs Festival 12-17 Selltcmber 1921 notice of inclusion in forthcoming competitive festival
MT 1922 I March 207 Norwich Festival Chorus 21 January 1922 report of perfonnance
MT 1922 I April 273 Lindlield, Sussex 22 February 1922 dillo
MT 1922 I April 273 Guernsey 23 or 24 February 1922 dillo
MT 1922 I June 434 St Andrews, Scotland 23 March 1922 dillo

295
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(The Revenge) (24) MT 1923 I February 133 Portishead Choral Society 20 December 1922 ditto
MT 1923 I May 357 Middlesbrough 28 March 1923 ditto
MT 1923 I May 357 Harrogate Choral Society 4 Apri11923 ditto
MT 1923 I July 503 Winchester Musical Society 7 June 1923 ditto
MT 1924 I April 361 Cardiff 2 March 1924 ditto
MO 1923 I November 150 Kirkaldy Music .Society 19 March 1924 notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1924 I May 458 ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1924 I May 459 Shrewsbury 27 March 1924 ditto
MT 1925 I January 67 Blackpool Choral Society 19 November 1924 ditto
MT 1924 1 December 1135 Ealing 17 December 1924 notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1925 1 March 262 Stratford-on-Avon 22 January 1925 report of performance
MT 1925 1 March 263 Blue Ribbon Choir, Cardiff 16 February 1925 ditto
MT 1925 I April 357 Axminster Choral Society 18 February 1925 ditto

Carmen Saeculare 26 MT 1887 I May 301 Buckingham Palace (State Concert) 11 May 1887 notice of forthcoming performance
Graph 1887 25 June 671 2 brief summary of score
MT 1887 I September 547 5 review of score
MT 1897 I May 353 A advertisement for Jubilee music

The Voyage of Maeldune 34 MW 1889 14 September Leeds Festival (first performance) I I October notice of forthcoming performance
MW 1889 28 September 667-8 3 brief analysis of score
MT 1889 I October 598 2 ditto ditto notice of forthcoming performance
MW I 889 5 October 685 ditto ditto notice ofthis performance and a subsequent one by the Royal Choral Society
LM I889 7 October 8 5 review of score
DN 1889 8 October 3 I Leeds Festival (rehearsal) 7 October brief comment on rehearsal
yp 1889 8 October 4 2 ditto ditto ditto
DTel I 889 9 October 4 4 review of score
Graph 1889 12 October 450-1 4 ditto ditto detailed commentary following rehearsal
MS 1889 12 October ditto ditto comments following rehearsal
MW 1889 12 October 707-8 2 ditto ditto ditto
ON 1889 12 October 6 4 Leeds Festival (first performance) II October review of performance
DTel 1889 12 October 3 4 ditto ditto ditto
LM I889 12 October 3 4 ditto ditto ditto
MP 1889 12 October 5 4 ditto ditto ditto
T I889 12 October 7 5 ditto ditto ditto
yp 1889 12 October 7 4 ditto ditto ditto
Guard 1889 16 October 1568-9 4 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1889 19 October 529-31 4 ditto ditto ditto
Graph 1889 19 October 483 I ditto ditto brief reference to performance
MS 1889 19 October 320-1 3 ditto ditto review of performance
MW 1889 19 October 726-7 3 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1889 26 October 569 2 ditto ditto reference to article on Leeds Festival in the Allgemeine Musik-Zeittmg
Sat Rev I889 26 October 459-60 4 ditto ditto review of performance
MMR 1889 I November 246-9 3 ditto ditto ditto
MO 1889 I November 70-1 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT I RR9 I November 658-61 4 ditto ditto ditto

296
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(The Voyage ofMaeldune) (34) Haz 1889 end of year LF39 2 ditto ditto brief reference
PMG 1889 13 November 6 1 Royal Choral Society, London 13 November 1889 preview of performance
DN 1889 14 November 3 2 ditto ditto review of performance
PMG 1889 14 November 6 4 ditto ditto ditto
T 1889 IS November 13 3 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1889 16 November 681 3 ditto ditto ditto
MW 1889 16November 815 3 ditto ditto ditto
Graph 1889 23 November 630 I ditto ditto brief comment on performance
MO I 889 I December 125 I ditto ditto ditto
MT 1889 I December 723-4 3 ditto ditto review of performance
MT 1891 I June 356 2 Sheffield 12 May 1891 report of performance
MN 1893 II March 219 I Brighton & Hove Choral Society 1893 season notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1895 2 March 194 Brighton (Stanford Concert) S December 1895 ditto
YM 1895 end of year 340 ditto ditto mention of performance
MMR 1903 I June 116 Sheffield 28 Aprill903 report of performance
BOG I 903 14 October 8 2 Birmingham Festival 13 October 1903 review of performance
BOP 1903 14 October 5 4 ditto ditto ditto
DChr 1903 14 October 6 3 ditto ditto ditto
DGr 1903 14 October 14 3 ditto ditto ditto
ON 1903 14 October 9 3 ditto ditto ditto
DTel 1903 14 October 10 3 ditto ditto ditto
PMG 1903 14 October 3 3 ditto ditto ditto
T I 903 14 October 9 3 ditto ditto ditto
Ath I 903 I 7 October 522-3 3 ditto ditto ditto
MMR 1903 1 November 201-2 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1903 1 November 725-8 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1904 I April 257 I Newcastle & Gateshead Choral Union 18 March 1904 report of performance
(Excerpt only) MN 1909 7 August II Chelsea Town Hall 22 July 1909 ditto
DTel 1920 26 April 18 3 Royal Choral Society, London 24 April 1920 review of performance
T 1920 26 April 12 4 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1920 l May 399 2 ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1920 I May 402 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1922 I February 128 Basingstoke 15 December 1921 ditto

The Battle of the Baltic 41 DN 1891 21 July 6 I Richter Concert, London (first perf.) 20July 1891 brief report of performance
DTel 1891 21 July 3 3 ditto ditto review of performance
MP 1891 21 July 3 3 ditto ditto ditto
PMG 1891 21 July 2 3 ditto ditto ditto
DGr 1891 23 July 5 3 ditto ditto ditto
T 1891 23July 4 3 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1891 24July 422 3 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1891 25 July 137 3 ditto ditto ditto
Graph 1891 25 July 115 2 ditto ditto ditto
MO 1891 I August 414 I ditto dilto brief report of performance
MT 1891 I August 457-9 2 ditto dilto brief mention under 'London Musical Season'
MT 1891 I August 473 4 ditto ditto more substantial review of work and perfonnance
SatRev 1891 I August 140 4 ditto ditto review of performance

297
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(The Battle of the Baltic) (41) Haz 1891 end of year LF46 I ditto ditto brief mention of performance
MN 1891 3 April 90 I Hereford Three Choirs Festival 8 September 1891 notice of forthcoming performance
DChr 1891 9 September 5 2 ditto ditto review of performance
DGr 1891 9 September 7 2 ditto ditto ditto
DN 1891 9 September 3 I ditto ditto brief review of performance
DTel I891 9 September 3 3 ditto ditto review of performance
MP 1891 9 September 5 3 ditto ditto ditto
T 1891 9 September 5 4 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1891 II September 564 2 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1891 II September 560 3 review of score
Ath 1891 12 September 362-3 2 ditto ditto review of performance
Graph 1891 12 September 303 I ditto ditto brief reference to performance
Guard 1891 16 September 1494-5 4 ditto ditto review of performance
SatRev 1891 19 September 333-4 2 ditto ditto ditto
MMR 1891 I October 223 2 ditto ditto ditto
MO 1891 I October 6-7 2 ditto ditto ditto (reprinted from the Athe11aeum)
MT 1891 I October 596-7 3 ditto ditto ditto
MMR 1891 I November 255 3 review of score
MN 1893 22 April 371 I Edinburgh II Aprill893 report of performance
MN 1894 30 June 611 I Keble College, Oxford 14 June 1894 ditto
YM I 899 end of year 197 Dover College Musical Society 189819 season mention of performance
MT 1905 I January 49 Torquay, Devon 23 November 1904 report of performance
MT 1906 I January 56 I Marlborough Choral Society 13 December 1905 ditto
MN 1908 26 December 593 Ellacombe Choral Society 16 December 1908 ditto
MN 1910 19March 281 Dover Festival 4 May 1910 notice of forthcoming pertbrmance
MT 1910 I June 379 I ditto ditto report of performance
MN 1910 15 October 338 Crystal Palace, London 1910/11 season notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1915 13 February 123 Wimbledon Church Choir Association 28 January 1915 report of performance
MT 1918 I April 183 Barnstaple, Devon 29 April 1918 notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1918 I June 279 ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1922 I June 433 Biggleswadc Choral Society 21 March 1922 report of performance

Installation Ode - Cam Rev 1892 16June 382 2 CUMS, Cambridge 13Junel892 Installation of new University Chancellor
SatRev 1892 18 June 701 l ditto dillo brief comment on performance
MT 1892 I July 422-3 4 diuo ditto some detailed comment on the work and its performance

Four Partsongs 47 MT t892 I December 744 4 review of scores

The Knight's Tomb (no.4) only MT 1904 I July 463 l Magpie Madrigal Society, London l June 1904 report of performance

Six Elizabethan Pastorals (set I) 49 MT 1893 I January 44 4 review of scores

Corydon arise (no.2) &·biaphenia (no.3) only Ath 1893 20 May 646-7 2 Buch Choir, London 16 May 1893 review of concert
ditto MT 1893 l June 341-2 ditto ditto report of concert
Corydon arise+ 2 others (unspecified) Cam Rev 1893 15 June 406 King's College Musical Society 10 June 1893 report of Cambridge concert
Corydon arise; Diaphen,ia; Sweet love for me (no.4) Cam Rev 1894 8 February 205 Dr Mann's Festival Choir, Cambridge 6 February 1894 ditto
Corydon arise; Diaphcnia; Phoebe (no.6) MN 1894 30 June 611 I Keblc College, Oxford 14 June 1894 report of concert

298
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

Corydon arise MN 1894 8 December 490 Gateshead Choral Society 26 November 1894 report of concert in Newcastle Town Hall
Corydon arise+ I other (unspecified) MN 1895 2 February 110 I Bristol Madrigal Society (Ladies) 24 January 1895 report of first hearing of versions for upper voices
Diaphenia MN 1895 2 March 202 Madrigal Society (unknown location) 21 February 1895 report of concert
Diaphenia MN 1895 4 May 418 Potters Bar Choral Society, Herts. 27 April 1895 ditto
Corydon arise MMR 1901 I June 135 Dublin 17 May 1901 ditto
Corydon arise MT 1903 I January 52 Torquay, Devon 2 December 1902 ditto
Sweet love for me; Phoebe MT 1904 I February 119 Manchester 19 December 1903 ditto
Diaphenia MT 1904 I June 373 Madrigal Society (unknown location) 5 May 1904 report of Society's Anniversary Concert
Diaphenia MT 1905 I February Blackburn 9 January 1905 report of concert
Corydon arise MT 1906 I June 419 Bognor Musical Society 25 April 1906 ditto
Corydon arise MN 1908 II January 33 I Ti mperley Vocal Society 16 December 1907 ditto
Corydon arise Choir 1910 June 114 White City, London 25 June 1910 mention of use as a choral competition piece
Diaphenia MN 1911 21January 74 Bristol Madrigal Society (Ladies) 12 January 1911 report of concert including upper-voice version
ditto MT 1911 I February 118 ditto ditto ditto
Corydon arise MT 1911 I February 121 Liverpool 17 January 1911 report of concert
Diaphenia MT 1911 I July 475 Exeter College, Oxford 30 May 1911 ditto
Corydon arise; Phoebe MN 1913 22March 282 Manchester Vocal Society 12 March 1913 ditto
To his llocks (no. I) MT 1913 I June 403 Woobum Male Voice Choir 23 April 1913 report of concert including male-voice version
Sweet love for me MT 1920 I May 342 Darlington Choral Society 13 Aprill920 report of concert
Corydon arise MT 1920 I June 418 Coventry Choral Society 20 April 1920 ditto
Diaphenia MT 1924 I April 362-3 Portsmouth 5 March 1924 ditto
Corydon arise MT 1924 I June 553 Novello Choir, London I May 1924 report of the Choir's final concert
Sweet love for me MT 1924 I December 1127 Huddersfield 28 October 1924 report of concert

The Bard 50 MN 1892 14 October 373 notice of completion of score

MN 1894 15 December 507 Cardiff Festival 19 September 1895 notice of forthcoming first performance
MN 1895 27 July 69-70 ditto ditto ditto
ChMus 1895 August 120 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1895 10 August 121 A advertisement for Cardiff Festival
Ath 1895 7 September 330 notice of publication by Boosey
DChr 1895 20 September 6 4 ditto diuo review of first performance
DGr 1895 20 September 7 5 ditto ditto ditto
ON 1895 20 September 3 4 ditto ditto ditto
DTel 1895 20 September 3 3 ditto ditto ditto
T 1895 20 September 8 3 ditto ditto ditto
Graph 1895 21 September 354 4 ditto ditto ditto
Guard 1895 25 September 1484 3 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1895 28 September 425-6 3 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1895 28 September 256-7 2 ditto ditto ditto
MO 1895 I October 17 ditto ditto report of first performance
MT 1895 I October 672-3 4 ditto ditto review of first performance
Haz I 895 end of year LF53 I ditto ditto brief mention of lirst perlonnance
YM I895 end of year 247 I ditto ditto ditto
Cam Rev 1896 18June 395 2 CUMS, Cambridge 16Junel896 report of pertonnance
MT 1896 I July 477 I ditto ditto ditto (date given as 15 June)
YM 1896 end of year 184 I ditlo ditto brief mention of performance

299
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

East to West 52 MN 1893 29 April 399 4 review of score

MN 1893 29 April 390 Royal Choral Society, London 10 May 1893 notice of forthcoming performance
DChr 1893 II May 5 3 ditto ditto review of (first?) performance
DN 1893 II May 8 3 ditto ditto ditto
PMG 1893 II May 2 5 ditto ditto ditto
T 1893 12May 4 3 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1893 13 May 614 3 ditto ditto ditto
DGr 1893 13 May 4 2 ditto ditto ditto
GBS!Wo 1893 17 May 11883-6 5 ditto ditto ditto
Cam Rev 1893 15 June 404 I CUMS Jubilee Concert, Cambridge 12 June 1893 report of Jubilee celebrations
Ath 1893 17 June 774 I ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1893 I July 408 ditto ditto ditto
MMR I 893 I October 225 2 review of score
Cam Rev 1893 9 November 80 2 reference to Saint-Sacns' comments following Cambridge performance
Haz 1893 end of year LF49 mentioned among new works of 1893

Six Elizabethan Pastorals (set 2) 53 SatRev 1894 9 June 622 3 review of scores
MT 1894 I September 620 3 ditto
MN 1894 I December 466 2 ditto
On a hill (no.l) & Shepherd Doran's Jig (no.6) MN I895 14 December 503 I Windsor & Eton Madrigal Society 9 December 1895 report of performance
On a hill MT 1925 I February 167 Oxford Harmonic Society 9 January 1925 ditto

Phaudrig Crohoore 62 DChr 1896 6 October 4 I Norwich October 1896 report of rehearsal for Norwich Festival
DChr 1896 I 0 October 10 4 Norwich Festival 9 October I 896 review of first performance
DGr 1896 I 0 October 7 5 ditto ditto ditto
DN I896 I 0 October 5 4 ditto ditto ditto
Graph I896 I 0 October 456 2 ditto ditto ditto
MP I896 I 0 October 5 4 ditto ditto ditto
T 1896 I 0 October 7 3 ditto ditto ditto
DTel 1896 12 October 8 3 ditto ditto ditto
Guard 1896 14 October 1585 3 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1896 17 October 533 3 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1896 17 October 323-4 3 ditto ditto ditto
MO 1896 I November 111-2 3 ditto ditto ditto (re-printed from the Athenaeum)
MT 1896 I November 734-6 4 ditto ditto ditto
Haz 1896 end of year LF55 2 ditto ditto brief mention of performance
YM 1896 end of year 76-7 I ditto ditto ditto
YM 1897 end of year 209 Bradford 24 October 1896 ditto
MT I 897 I January 46 I Streatham Chord I Society, London 21 December 1896 report of first London performance
YM I 897 end of year 336 ditto ditto diuo
MN 1897 30 January 107 3 Highbury Philharmonic Society, London 26 January 1897 review of performance
YM 1897 end of year 168 ditto ditto mention of performance
MN 1896 21 November 448 Worcester Festival Choml Society 2 February 1897 notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1897 27 February 207 ditto ditto report of performance
YM 1898 end of year 196 St Albans Omtorio Society 1897/8 season mention of performance
YM 1898 end of year 228 Ilk Icy Choml Society 22 March 1898 diuo

300
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(Phaudrig Crohoore) (62) MN 1898 25 June 619 I StJohn's College, Cambridge 14 June 1898 report of performance
MN 1898 31 December 618 I Bermondsey I S December 1898 ditto
YM 1899 end of year 164 ditto ditto mention of performance (date given as 8 December)
YM I 899 end of year 207 Great Yarmouth Musical Society December 1898 ditto
YM 1899 end of year 174 South London Choral Association April1899 ditto
YM I 899 end of year 174 Stoke Newington Choral Association 1898/9 season ditto
DChr 1899 24 April 3 I Crystal Palace, London 22 Aprill899 report of performance
Graph 1899 29 April 548 1 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1899 29 April 438 I ditto ditto ditto
MMR 1901 I June 135 I Dublin (competition performances) early May 190 I report of competition
BDG 1902 21 February 6 2 Birmingham 20 February 1902 review of performance
MMR 1902 I April 74 I ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1902 I April 258 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1902 I June 407 Clifton Choral Society, Bristol 7 May 1902 ditto
MT 1904 I March 187 I Gloucester Choral Society 9 February 1904 ditto
MT 1904 I April 259 Bradford I March 1904 ditto
MT 1904 I November 740 Bermondsey 1904/5 season notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1904 I November 741 Ripon 1904/5 season ditto
MT 1905 I April 267 Grantham 28 February 1905 report of performance
MT 1905 I June 406 Wallsend (Newcastle) 3 May 1905 ditto
MT 1906 I January 53 Leeds Teachers' Choral Society 21 November 1905 ditto
MT I906 I December 835 Dublin 7 November 1906 ditto
MT 1906 I November 765 Edinburgh University Music Society 190617 season notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1907 I June 406 Selhurst Musical Society 30 April 1907 report of performance
MT 1908 I January 53 High Wycombe 4 December 1907 ditto
MN 1908 18 April 372-3 London 8 April1908 report of performance by Munro Davison's Choral Society
MT 1908 I June 408 Leamington Madrigal Society 14 May 1908 report of performance
ManGuard 1908 I 7 December 8 3 Manchester Vocal Society 16 December 1908 review of performance
MN 1909 2 January 22 ditto ditto report of performance
MN 1909 2 October 300 East Ham Teachers' Musical Society 16 December 1909 notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1910 8January 32 ditto ditto report of performance
MN 1910 19 March 298 Ormskirk Musical Association 8 March 1910 ditto
MT 1910 I April 253 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1910 7 May 492 Nayland Choral Society 19 April1910 ditto
MN 1910 19November 466 Bedford 28 February 1911 notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1911 II March 248 ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1911 I April 265 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1911 I May 322 I Queen's Hall, London 4 Apri11911 ditto
MN 1911 23 December 608 Arm ley Choral Society, Leeds 4 December 1911 ditto
MT 1911 I October 670 Gla.~gow 1911/12 season notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1912 27 January 99 Sheffield 16 January 1912 report of performance
MT 1912 I March 188 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1912 I June 402 Burton Chornl Society, Cheshire 20 Aprill'll2 ditto
MT 1912 I November 741 Warrington Musical Society 6 November 1912 notice of forthcoming pcrfonnance
MT I912 I December 811 ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1912 I August 535 Newcastle 1912/B season notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1913 8 March 235 I West Kirby 25 February 1913 report of pcrlbrmunce
MT 1913 I April 261 ditto ditto ditto

301
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(Phaudrig Crohoore) (62) MT 1914 I January 57 I Sidcup 2 December 1913 ditto

MN 1913 20 December 544 Chelmsford 9 December 1913 ditto
MT 1914 I January 56 I ditto ditto ditto
MT 1914 I April 259 Crystal Palace, London 21 February 1914 ditto
MT 1918 1 November 522 Leeds Philharmonic Society 6 December 1918 notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1918 7 December 174 I ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1919 I April 185 I York Musical Society 26 February 1919 ditto
MN 1920 31 January 98 2 Westminster Choral Society, London 20 January 1920 ditto
MT 1920 1 May Crosby, Lanes. 24 March 1920 ditto
MT 1921 I April 288 I Liverpool 9 March 1921 ditto
MT 1922 I April 272 Bristol 28 February 1922 ditto
MT 1922 I May 359 Irish Choral Society, Liverpool 21 March 1922 ditto
MO 1922 I May 688 Maxwell town April? 1922 ditto
MT 1922 I May 358 Dumfries spring 1922 ditto
MT 1923 I February 133 Gainsborough Musical Society 13 December 1922 ditto
MT 1923 I March 207 Richmond, Yorkshire 12 February 1923 ditto
MO 1923 I April 643 Manchester I 0 March 1923 ditto
MT 1923 I June 430 Budleigh Salterton Musical Society 19 April 1923 ditto
MT 1924 I May 459 Overton, Hants. 25 March 1924 ditto
MT 1924 I December 1129 Scarborough Musical Society 4 November 1924 ditto
MT 1925 I January 67 Blackpool Choral Society 19 November 1924 ditto
MT 1925 I January 68 East Herts Musical Society 20 November 1924 ditto
MT 1925 I January 70 Teignmouth Choral Society 4 December 1924 ditto
MT 1925 I April 358 Halifax Choral Society 5 March 1925 ditto
MT 1925 I June 551 Bumeside Choral Society 25 April 1925 ditto
MT 1926 I April 360 York Musical Society 24 February 1926 ditto (Stanford Concert)

Shall we go dance (Elizabethan Pastorals, set 3) 67/3 MT 1912 I March I West Kirby Choral Society 12 February 1912 report of performance

9 Quartets from The Princess 68 MN 1898 19 February 192 4 review of scores

MN 1898 19 February 186-7 2 Northern Polytechnic, London 5 February 1898 review of People's Society concert

The Last Post 75 DChr 1900 26 June 4 Buckingham Palace, London 25 June !900 report of first performance at private concert
DChr 1900 12 September 6 3 Hereford Three Choirs Festival II September 1900 review of first pub He performance
DN 1900 12 September 4 3 ditto ditto ditto
DTel 1900 12 September 7 3 ditto ditto ditto
PMG 1900 12 September 4 3 ditto ditto ditto
T 1900 12 September 4 3 ditto ditto ditto
DGr 1900 13 September 11 3 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1900 15 September 354 3 ditto ditto ditto
Graph 1900 15 September 404 3 ditto ditto ditto
Guard 1900 19 September 1299 3 ditto ditto ditto
MMR I 900 I October 222-3 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1900 I October 657-61 2 ditto ditto ditto
Haz I 900 end of year LF62 I ditto ditto brief mention of performance

302
 r;;{

Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(The Last Post) (75) CamRev 1901 12 June 367 3 CUMS, Cambridge 7 June 1901 review of performance
T 1901 13 September 8 I Gloucester Three Choirs Festival 11 September 190 I report of performance
MMR 1901 I October 221·3 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1901 I October 668-72 ditto ditto ditto
DGr 1901 II October 5 I Leeds Festival I 0 October 190 I report of performance plus comments on Stanford's conducting of Verdi
ON 1901 II October 5 I ditto ditto report of performance
LM 1901 II October 5 2 ditto ditto review of performance
PMG 1901 11 October 2 2 ditto ditto ditto
T 190 I 11 October 14 2 ditto ditto ditto
yp 1901 11 October 8 4 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1901 19 October 529-30 2 ditto ditto ditto
MMR 1901 I November 243 I ditto ditto report of performance
MO 1901 I November 107-8 3 ditto ditto ditto plus interesting comments on Stanford as conductor
MT 1901 I November 731-4 I ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1902 I January 53 1 Exeter Oratorio Society 13 December 190 I ditto
MT 1902 I May 339 1 Bruton Choral Society 3 April1902 ditto
MT 1902 I June 407 Ealing Philharmonic Society 23 April I 902 ditto
MT 1902 I June 409 Worksop Musical Society 1 May 1902 ditto
MT 1904 I January 41 Wellington, New Zealand 24 October 1903 ditto
MT 1904 I November 738 Darlington (Stockton Choral Society) 23 February 1905 notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1905 I April 267 ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1905 1 May 336 Dulwich Philharmonic Society 8 April 1905. ditto
MT 1906 I January 53 Plymouth Guildhall Choir 21 October 1905 ditto
MT 1906 I May 337 Toronto, Canada 1905/6 season notice of performance
MT 1906 I June 416 I Sheffield 8 May 1906 report of performance
MT 1907 1 June 403 St Budeaux Choral Society, Devon 12 February 1907 ditto
MT 1908 I June 407 Bruton Choral Society, Devon 14 May 1908 ditto
MT 1909 1 April 262 Edinburgh University Musical Society 5 March 1909 ditto
MT 1910 I December 798 Plymouth Guildhall Choir 22 October 191 0 ditto
MN 1911 25 March 284 Aberdeen (400 voices) 14 March 1911 ditto
MT 1911 1 June 399 1 Clifton Choral Society, Bristol 9Mayl911 ditto
MN 1912 24 February 180 Luton Choral Society 7 February 1912 ditto
MT 1912 1 April 262 Torquay Musical Association 20 March 1912 ditto
MN 1912 6 April 325 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1914 1 April 263 Liverpool 10 March 1914 ditto
MT 1914 I December 710 Bristol Choral Society 28 October 1914 ditto
MT 1915 1 April 235 I Liverpool I 7 February 1915 ditto
MT 1915 1 October 621 West Bristol Choral Society 13 September 1915 ditto
MN 1916 5 February 126 Castle Douglas 17 January 1916 ditto
MN 1916 14 October 252 I Belfast Philharmonic Society 6 October 1916 ditto
MT 1917 I February 88 Eating Choral Society, London 10 December 1916 ditto
MN 1918 20 July 28 Peterhead Choral Society 1917/18 season ditto
MT 1918 I March 121 1 Alexandra Palace Choir, London 2 February 1918 ditto
MT 1920 I January 41 I Westminster Choral Society, London 2 December 1919 ditto
MT 1919 I November 633 Cecilian Choral Society, Bristol 31 January 1920 notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1920 I March 198 1 ditto ditto report of performance (Colston Hall)
MN 1920 I May 393 Dover Choral Union 21 Aprill920 report of performance
MT 1920 1 November 779 Dunedin, New Zealand 1919/20 season ditto

303
 ·.,:_

Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(The Last Post) (75) MT 1922 I June 433 East Herts Musical Society 4 May 1922 ditto
MO 1922 I October 35-6 Gloucester Three Choirs Festival 7 September I 922 ditto
MT I 922 I October 705-9 I ditto ditto ditto
MT 1922 1 December 877 Birmingham II November 1922 report of' Armistice Night' Concert

Songs of the Sea 91 LM I 904 4 October 6 3 Leeds October 1904 comments following rehearsal
yp 1904 4 October 5 2 ditto ditto ditto
DGr I 904 8 October 10 3 Leeds Festival 7 October 1904 review of first performance
DN 1904 8 October 8 3 ditto ditto ditto
LM I 904 8 October 6 4 ditto ditto ditto
MP I 904 8 October 7 3 ditto ditto ditto
T I 904 8 October 6 2 ditto ditto ditto
yp I 904 8 October 10 4 ditto ditto ditto
Cam Rev 1904 27 October 26 I ditto ditto brief mention of performance
MMR 1904 I November 205 3 ditto ditto review of first performance
MO 1904 I November 114 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1904 1 November 730-1 3 ditto ditto ditto
Haz 1904 end of year LF7! ditto ditto brief mention of performance
MT 1905 I January 52 I Hawarden 17 December 1904 report of performance
Three songs only (unspecified) MT 1905 I February 120 Shirehampton, Bristol 2 January 1905 ditto
DN 1905 27 January 4 3 Queen's Hall, London 26 January 1905 review of first London performance
T 1905 27 January 5 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1905 3 March 187-8 I ditto ditto report of 'first performance with orchestra': LSO/Greene/RCM chorus
MT 1905 I March 195 2 Reading I February 1905 report of performance
MT 1905 I March 191 I Gloucester 21 February 1905 ditto
CamRev 1905 2 March lix 3 CUMS, Cambridge February 1905 review of performance with H.P. Greene and Percy Grainger
MT 1905 I April 264 Dublin 13 or 15 March 1905 report of performance
Three songs only (unspecified) MT 1905 I July 476 Crystal Palace, London 21 June 1905 ditto
MT 1905 I July 479 Oxford 21 June 1905 ditto
BDP 1905 8 December 11 2 Birmingham City Choral Society 7 December 1905 review of performance
MT 1906 I January 48 I ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1906 I January 47 Richmond Philharmonic Society 14 December 1905 ditto
MT 1906 1 January 45 I Clifton College, Bristol 18 December 1905 ditto
MT 1906 I March 191 I Crystal Palace, London 3 February 1906 ditto
MT 1906 I April 272 I Bedford 20 February 1906 ditto
MT I906 I March 194 1 Gloucester Choral Society 20 February 1906 ditto
MT 1906 I April 265 I Glasgow 22 February 1906 ditto
MT 1906 I April 264 1 Edinburgh 28 February 1906 ditto
MT 1906 I April 266 I Liverpool 12 March 1906 ditto
MT 1906 I June 4I4 Western Counties Musical Association 25 April 1906 ditto
BDP I906 28 May 12 2 Birmingham City Choral Society 26 May I906 review of performance
MT 1906 I July 491 ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1907 1' June 402 Reading 24 Aprill907 ditto
MT 1907 I June 405 Kenilworth Madrigal Society 25 Aprill907 ditto
MT 1907 I June 406 I Cheltenham 15 May 1907 ditto
MP 1907 14 October 3 I Leeds Festival 12 October 1907 ditto
CamRev 1907 7 November 66 2 Cambridge 31 October 1907 report of Symphony Concert

304
 ·,,r.

Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(Songs of the Sea) (91) MT 1908 l January 43 ditto ditto ditto

Three songs only (unspecified) MN 1908 22 February 195 I Manchester 13 February 1908 report of performance
DTel 1908 15 October 5 Bristol Festival 14 October 1908 ditto
MN 1908 24 October 353 ditto ditto ditto
MMR 1908 l November 245 l ditto ditto ditto
MN 1908 21 November 461 Guildhall School of Music, London 5 November 1908 ditto
MT 1909 l April 262-3 l Edinburgh 19 March 1909 ditto
MN 1909 24 April 440 l Queen's Hall, London 16 Aprill909 ditto (Stock Exchange Concert)
Two songs only (unspecified) MN 1909 17 July 66-7 Leeds (soloist Walter Mason) 10 July 1909 ditto
MN 1909 23 October 369-70 I Southport Triennial Festival October 1909 ditto
MN 1910 19 February 184 Bedford Musical Society 8 February 1910 ditto (soloist H .P. Greene)
MT 1910 I April 252 Glasgow 15 March 1910 ditto
MT 1910 l June 393 Sheffield spring 1910 ditto
MN 1911 I April 309 Aberdeen Male Voice Choir 25 March 1911 ditto (title given as 'Fleet', but 'Sea' seems more probable)
MT 1911 I December 815 Windsor 1911112 season notice of forthcoming performance
Drake's Drum only MN 1912 4 May 420 Milford-on-Sea Choral Society 17 Aprill912 report of performance
MN 1913 22 February 169 Gloucester Three Choirs Festival early autumn 1913 preview of Festival programme
MN 1914 7 March 238 St Peter Mancroft, Norwich 24 February 1914 report of performance by Church Choir
MT 1915 l January 42-3 I Barfield Mixed Choir, Birmingham 25 November 1914 report of performance
Drake's Drum; The Old Superb only MT 1915 I April 234 Liverpool Philharmonic Society 23 February 1915 ditto
MN 1915 27 March 247 2 Queen's Hall, London 18 March 1915 ditto (Stock Exchange Choir)
Three songs only (unspecified) MN 1915 ll September 236 Queen's Hall, London 2 September 1915 ditto (Promenade Concert)
MT 1915 I October 620 Midland Musical Society, Birmingham 9 October 1915 notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1915 4 December 537-8 2 Liverpool (soloist H.P. Greene) 23 November 1915 report of performance
Drake's \')rum; The Old Superb only MT 1916 I March 161 Boumemouth 31 January 1916 ditto
MN 1916 25 November 342 Royal Choral Society, London 25 November 1916 notice of performance conducted by Stanford
MN 1916 2 December 355 l ditto ditto report of first performance of new version with mixed chorus
MT 1917 I January 33 I ditto ditto ditto (but no mention of mixed chorus)
MT 1917 I October 460 Bolton Choral Society 1917118 season notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1918 18 March 96 Royal Choral Society, London 2 March 1918 report of performance
MT 1918 I April 170 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1918 I October 475 Manchester October 1918 notice of forthcoming performance
Drake's Drum; The Old Superb only MT 1919 I June 311 Salonica (General Hospital) 24 February 1919 report of performance
MT 1919 I February 91 Waking 15 March 1919 notice offorthcoming performance
MT 1919 I May 242 Hamilton Choral Union, Glasgow 9Apri!l919 report of performance
MN 1919 18 October 131 l Weston-super-Mare 13 October 1919 ditto
MT 1920 l March 205 Newcastle 25 January 1920 ditto
MT 1920 I April 254 Croydon Philharmonic Society 28 February 1920 ditto
MT 1920 l October 704 West Cornwall Musical Society 9 September l 920 ditto
MN 1920 25 December 590 I Manchester 8 December 1920 ditto
MT I 920 I October 704 Chatham Choral Society 1920/21 season notice of forthcoming performance
Unspecified selection MT 1922 I April 272 Bradford 15 March 1922 report of performance
MT 1922 I May 345 Westtninster Choral Society, London 4 Aprill922 ditto
MO 1922 l May 687 I Aberdeen Male Voice Choir 4 Aprill922 ditto
MO 1923 I April 643 Manchester 10 March 1923 ditto
MT 1923 l June 430 Boston Choral Society, Lines. 26 Aprill923 ditto
MO I 922 I October 27 Royal Choral Society, London 28 Aprill923 notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1922 I October 729 ditto ditto ditto

305
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(Songs of the Sea) (91) MT 1923 1 November 799 Ipswich Male-Voice Choir 10 October 1923 report of performance
MO 1924 1 January 375 1 City of Birmingham Choir 5 December 1923 ditto
MT 1924 I February 172 Liverpool 13 January 1924 ditto
Three songs only (unspecified) MO 1924 1 December 263 Liverpool (Stanford Memorial Concert) 21 October 1924 ditto
ditto MT 1924 1 December 1127 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1925 1 January 68 Exeter Oratorio Society 2 December 1924 ditto
MT 1925 1 January 69 Lymington 4 December 1924 ditto
Unspecified selection MT 1925 I March 261 Birmingham City Choir (Kenilworth) 4 February 1925 ditto

Ode to Wellington 100 DTel I 908 15 October 5 3 Bristol Festival 14 October I 908 review of first performance
MP 1908 15 October 5 4 ditto ditto ditto
PMG I 908 15 October 6 5 ditto ditto ditto
T I 908 16 October 12 4 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1908 I 7 October 483 3 ditto ditto ditto
DN 1908 I 7 October 4 3 ditto ditto reported at second-hand by E.A. Baughan
MN 1908 24 October 353 1 ditto ditto brief report of performance
MMR 1908 1 November 245 3 ditto ditto review of first performance
MO I 908 1 November 87 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1908 1 November 725 3 ditto ditto ditto
Haz 1908 end of year LF79 1 ditto ditto mention of performance
MN 1909 18 December 583 Leeds Festival 14 October 1910 notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1910 19 February 181 ditto ditto ditto
DChr 1910 15 October 5 2 ditto ditto review of performance
ON 1910 15 October 5 3 ditto ditto ditto
LM 1910 15 October 3 4 ditto ditto ditto
T 1910 15 October 10 3 ditto ditto ditto
yp 1910 15 October 7 2 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1910 22 October 498 2 ditto ditto ditto
MN 191 0 22 October 357-8 3 ditto ditto ditto
MMR 1910 1 November 245 2 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1910 I November 719-21 2 ditto ditto ditto

Four Part-Songs for Male Voices 106 MO 1908 I November 88 1 review of scores

Four Part-Songs 110 MO 1908 I November 88 I review of scores

Heraclitus (no.4) only MN 1909 8 May 500 StJames' Hall, London 4 May 1909 report of performance by Smallwood Metcalfe's Choir
Heraclitus MT 1910 I April 242 ditto 9 March 1910 ditto
Heraclitus MT 1910 1 April 242 I Temple Church, London 10 March 1910 report of performance by Temple Church Choir
Valentine's Day (no.l)(version for upper voices) MT 1915 I January 49 1 Blackburn Ladies' Choir 14 December 1914 report of performance
Heraclitus MT !920 I February 125 Avonmouth Choral Society 17 December 1919 ditto
Valentine's Day MN 1920 1 May 393 Richmond Choral Society (Yorks.) 13 April 1920 ditto
Heraclitus MT 1922 1 July 512 Queen's College, Oxford 2 June 1922 ditto
Heraclitus MT 1925 1 January 72 Cardiff Musical Society 26 November 1924 ditto

306
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

Ode to Discord DChr 1909 10 June 5 2 Queen's Hall, London 9 June 1909 review of first performance
DGr 1909 !OJune 7 3 ditto ditto ditto
DN 1909 lOJune 7 4 ditto ditto ditto
DTel 1909 10 June 6 3 ditto ditto ditto
PMG 1909 10 June 3 5 ditto ditto ditto
T 1909 !OJune 12 5 ditto ditto ditto
Ath 1909 12June 709-10 3 ditto ditto ditto
MMR I 909 I July !50-I 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1909 I July 467 3 ditto ditto ditto
Haz I 909 end of year LF83 1 ditto ditto mention of performance
MN 1912 12 October 300 ditto ditto mentioned in note marking Stanford's 60fu birthday (from Evening Standard)
MO 1909 I July 703 2 comment on the work
MO !909 I July 717 3 review of score
MN 1909 23 October 382-3 2 Eastbourne 7 October I 909 review of performance
MN 1909 14 August 148 Brighton Festival 2-5 February I 910 notice of forthcoming performance
MMR 1910 I March 52-3 1 ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1910 1 March 166 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1910 7May 510 2 Norwich Philharmonic Society 28 April1910 ditto
MT 1910 I June 392 ditto ditto ditto
MN I 9 I0 I 7 September 254-5 Liverpool 17 January 1911 notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1910 I October 661 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1911 28 January 98-9 3 ditto ditto review of performance (conducted by Stanford)
MT 1911 I February 121 2 ditto ditto ditto

Songs of the Fleet 1I7 MN 1910 I October 287 A advertisement of score

MO 1910 I October 18 1 Leeds Festival I 3 October 19 !0 notice of forthcoming first performance
LM I 910 14 October 7 4 ditto ditto review of first performance
MP 1910 14 October 8 5 ditto ditto ditto
PMG 19!0 14 October 10 3 ditto ditto ditto
T 1910 14 October 10 3 ditto ditto ditto
yp 1910 14 October 7 3 ditto ditto ditto
DTel 1910 !5 October 15 4 ditto ditto ditto
Ath I 9 !0 22 October 498 3 ditto ditto ditto
MN I 9 I0 22 October 357-8 2 ditto ditto ditto
MMR 1910 1 November 245 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT !9!0 I November 719-21 2 ditto ditto ditto
Haz 1910 end of year LF86 ditto ditto mention of performance
MT 191 I 1 January 52 I Scarborough 7 December 191 0 report of performance
T 19 I 0 9 December 13 2 London Choral Society 8 December 1910 review of first London performance
DTel 1910 10 December 15 2 ditto ditto ditto
MN I 910 17 December 551 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1911 I February 116 2 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1911 7 January 15 Ealing Choral Society, London 20 December 1910 mentioned in review of the year's music
MT 1911 I February 117 I ditto ditto report· of performance
MN 1910 17 September 254-5 Liverpool 17 January 191 I notice of forthcoming performance of 'New Songs of the Sea'
MT 1910 1 October 661 ditto ditto notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1911 28 January 98-9 3 ditto ditto review of performance (conducted by Stanford)

307
 .",

Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(Songs of the Fleet) (117) MT 1911 I February 121 2 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1911 II February 146 Leeds Parish Church Choir 2 February 1911 report of performance (conducted by Bairstow)
MT 1911 I May 331 I Peebles 22 March 1911 report of performance
MT 1911 I May 330 Aberdeen Male Voice Choir 25 March 1911 ditto
MT 1911 I June 397 Richmond, Surrey 2 May 1911 ditto
MN 1911 20May 490-2 2 West Kirby & Hoylake Festival 12 May 1911 ditto
MN 1911 3June 546-8 2 review of score
DN 1911 6July 5 Queen's Hall, London 5 July 1911 report of performance at Institute of Naval Architects' Concert
DTel 1911 6 July 9 2 ditto ditto review of performance
T 1911 6July 10 2 ditto ditto ditto
MMR 1911 I August 203 I ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1912 I January 54 I Windsor & Eton Choral Society 8 December I 911 ditto
MN 1912 30March 315 I York II March 1912 ditto
MT 1912 I October 672 Peterhead Choral Society, Aberdeen 1·912/13 season notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1912 I October 672 Aberdeen Choral Union 1912113 season ditto
MT 1913 I June 392 Alexandra Palace Choral Society 3 May 1913 report of performance
MN 1913 12July 43 Leeds Parish Church Choir 1July1913 ditto (Bairstow's Farewell Concert)
MT 1913 I December 827 I Avon Vale Musical Society, Bath 12 November 1913 ditto
MT 1914 I January 55 Armley, Leeds 9 December I 913 ditto
MN 1914 7 February 123 Greenwich, London 17 January 1914 ditto
MT 1914 I March 189 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1914 I April 263 Glasgow 5 March 1914 ditto
MT 1914 I December 708 London Choral Society 9 November 1914 ditto
MT 1915 I January 44 I Bristol 9 December 1914 ditto
MN 1915 24 April 336 London Choral Society 28 Aprill915 notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1915 I June 364 I ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1915 I June 369 Wesleyan Central Hall, London 15 May 1915 ditto
MN 1915 27 November 508 I London Choral Society 18 December 1915 notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1916 !June 304 Pinner Choral Society, London 10Mayl916 report of performance
MN 1916 25 November 347 I Leeds Philharmonic Society 14 November 1916 ditto
MT 1916 I October 471 Halifax Choral Society 16 November 1916 notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1917 I February 88 Eating Choral Society 10 December 1916 report of performance
MN 1916 25 November 342 Bach Choir, London (Queen's Hall) 12 December 1916 notice of forthcoming performance
MN 1916 23 December 402 I ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1917 I January 34 I ditto ditto ditto
MT 1917 I March 131 Alexandra Palace Choral Society 10 February 1917 ditto
MT 1917 I April 184 Ilkley Vocal Society 9 March 1917 ditto
MT 1917 I October 460 Royal Choral Society, London 24 November 1917 notice of forthcoming performance
MN 191 7 I December 338-9 I ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1918 I January 41 I ditto ditto ditto
Haz 1917 end of year LFIOS ditto ditto mention of performance
MT 1917 I October 460 Bradford Choral Society 1917118 season notice of forthcoming performance
Haz 1918 end of year LFI09 Royal Choral Society, London 1918 season mention of performance
MT 1919 I October 563 Glasgow Choral Union 1919/20 season notice of forthcoming performance
MT 1919 I October 563 Stirling Choral Society 1919120 season ditto
MT 1920 I April 254 Alexandra Palace Choral Society 6 March 1920 report of performance
DTel 1920 26 April 18 I Royal Choral Society 24 Aprill920 review of concert
T 1920 26 April 12 I ditto ditto ditto

308
Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

(Songs of the Fleet) (117) MN 1920 1 May 399 1 ditto ditto report of performance
MT 1920 I June 402 1 ditto ditto ditto
MN 1920 17 July 58 2 Royal College of Music, London 7 July 1920 report of concert
MT 1920 1 October 704 CUMS, Cambridge 1920/21 season notice offorthcoming performance
MT 1920 1 November 770 Sittingbourne, Kent 1920/21 season ditto
MT 1922 1 January 58 Crosshills Choral Union 26 November 1921 report of performance
MT 1922 1 April 273 Halifax Choral Society 3 March 1922 ditto
MT 1922 1 June 434 Norwich Philharmonic Society spring 1922 ditto
MT 1923 1 January 62 Ealing Choral Society, London 9 December 1922 ditto
MO 1924 I January 375 Lincoln Musical Society 28 November 1923 ditto
MT 1924 1 January 74 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1924 I January 60 3 HMVstudios date unknown review of recording conducted by Stanford
MT 1924 I April 363 Scarborough Philharmonic Society 11 March 1924 report of performance
MT 1924 1 May 459 Penrith Musical Society 28 March 1924 ditto
MT 1924 1 May 455 Queen's Hall, London 9 Aprill924 ditto
MT 1924 I July 651 Bristol University Male Choir 5 June 1924 ditto
MT 1925 I May 440 Clapton Wesleyan Church, London 23 March 1925 ditto
MT 1925 I November 1006-8 Leeds Festival October 1925 ditto
MT 1926 I April 360 York Musical Society 24 February 1926 ditto (all-Stanford concert)
MT 1926 I May 454 Colchester Musical Society 25 March 1926 ditto

Eight Part-Songs 119 MO 1910 I November 125 A Stainer & Bell advertisement
The Witch (no. I) only MT 1912 1 February 121 Aberdeen University 12 December 1911 report of performance
Nos. 2-8 only MN 1912 6April 327 3 review of scores
The Blue Bird (no.3); Chillingham (no.7) MN 1912 13April 357-8 3 letter commenting on features of these two songs
The Witch; Chillingham MN 1912 27 April 395 1 Queen's Hall, London 17 Aprill912 report of performance by the Oriana Madrigal Society
ditto MT 1912 1 May 319 ditto ditto (given as 19 April) ditto
The Witch MN 1913 27 December 582 I Darlington 10 December 1913 report of performance
ditto MT 1914 I January 53 I ditto ditto ditto
The Blue Bird MT 1914 1 March 192 Liverpool Philharmonic Concert 27 January 1914 ditto
The Blue Bird MT 1915 1 April 231 1 Oriana Madrigal Society, London 11 March 1915 ditto
The Blue Bird MN 1919 15March 90 l Liverpool Philharmonic Choir 18 January 1919 ditto
The Witch MT 1920 l May 342 l Darlington Choral Society 13 April 1920 ditto
The Blue Bird MT 1923 l March 206 Elizabethan Singers, Oxford 29 January 1923 ditto
The Blue Bird MT 1923 l June 430 Blackpool Lyric Choir 25 April 1923 ditto
The Blue Bird MT 1923 l December 871 Cecilian Glee Club, Middlesbrough October/November 1923 ditto
The Blue Bird MT 1924 1 May 458 Leeds Philharmonic Choir 1923/4 season ditto
The Blue Bird MT 1924 1 December 1128 Tudor Singers, Liverpool 7 November 1924 ditto
The Blue Bird MT 1925 l January 67 Blackpool Choral Society 19 November 1924 ditto
The Blue Bird MT 1925 I May 456 Glasgow Orpheus Choir March!April 1925 ditto

Eight Part-Songs 127 MO I 912 I February 360 A Stainer & Bell advertisement
MO 1912 1 March 423 I review of scores (first batch)
MO 1912 I May 595 I review of scores (second batch)
Wilderspin (no. 7) only MT 1915 1 April 231 Oriana Madrigal Society 11 March 1915 report of performance

309
 ·;:'

Title of work Opus Journal Journal date Page(s) Rating Performance location Performance date Type of notice Further comments

Sixteen Part-Songs (Mo Coleridge settings) 119/127 MN I 912 21 September 228 report of issue in two volumes
Volume 2 only Choir 1912 July 134 2 review of second book (0p.l27)

My Land (SA) and The Angler's Song (SATB) MN 1912 25 May 512 review of scores (Year Book Press)

Lullaby (SS) MN 1914 14March 250 2 review of score

Fairy Day (3 Idylls for Female Chorus) 131 MN 1915 19 June 493 A Stainer & Bell advertisement
Fairy Dawn (no.l) only MN 1920 17 April 348 I Trinity College of Music, London 25 March 1920 report of performance

The Invitation (unison song) MN 1915 19June 493 A Stainer & Bell advertisement

A Carol of Bells (choral version) MT 1918 I January 41 I Royal Choral Society, London 24 November 191 7 report of performance
MT 1920 1 October 698 2 review of score
MO 1920 I November 128 2 ditto

Merlin and the Gleam 172 MT 1920 1 April 254 2 Alexandra Palace, London 6 March 1920 review of performance by Alexandra Palace ChoraVOrchestral Society
MO 1920 1 September 923 A Stainer & Bell advertisement
MT 1925 1 April 358 Blackburn Glee & Madrigal Society 24 February 1925 report of performance

At the Abbey Gate 177 DTel 1921 7 March 14 2 Royal Choral Society, London 5 March 1921 review of first performance
T 1921 7 March 8 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1921 I April 270 3 ditto ditto ditto
MT 1922 1 June 439-40 I Toronto, Canada 24 or 25 April 1922 report of performance

Six Irish Airs (arr. SA TB) MO 1922 I October 87 2 review of scores

Fineen the Rover (unison song) MO 1923 1 November 176 review of score

The Morris Dance (SATB) MO 1924 1 February 533 review of score

310
 Appendix II

CHARLES VILLIERS STANFORD (1852-1924)

CHRONOLOGICAL LISTS OF HIS CHORAL MUSIC

1(a) Sacred music for use in Anglican or other Church Services

Title of work Opus Text source (if known) Date Publisher Scoring/instrumentation Further comments

How beautiful upon the mountains (anthem) Bible 1868 unpublished SA TB and organ Earliest extant anthem, written on Christmas Day 1868

Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in F (The 'Queens' Service') Book of Common Prayer 18 72 Stainer & Bell, !995 SA TB/soli/divisions and organ Written for Queen's College, Cambridge

Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in E flat Book of Common Prayer 1873 Cathedral Music, 1996 SA TB/soli/divisions and organ Written for Trinity College, Cambridge

Pater Noster (Latin motet) Lord's Prayer 1874 RSCM,2002 SSAA TTBB unaccompanied Written as a student exercise in Leipzig

In memoria aetema (Latin motet) 1874 unpublished SSAA TTBB and organ Completed in Leipzig, 7 November I 874 for Trinity College

In memoria aetema (second setting) 1876 OUP,2004 SSAA TTBB unaccompanied Completed in Berlin, 23 November 1876 for Trinity College

Morning, Communion and Evening Service in B flat 10 Book of Common Prayer 18 79 Novello, 1879 SATB and organ First sung in Trinity College Chapel, summer 1879. Te Deum
scored for 1902 coronation; remainder scored & publ. 1903

Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in A 12 Book of Common Prayer 1880 Novello, I 880 SATB/divisions, organ and orchestra Commissioned for the Festival of the Sons of Clergy at St Paul's
Cathedral in May 1880

Morning and Communion Service in A 12 Book of Common Prayer c.l895 Novello, 1895 SATB and organ Written at the insistence of Novello to complement the Evening
Canticles

Awake. my heart (anthem) 16 Klopstock. tr. H.F. Wilson 1881 Boosey, 1881 Bar. solo, SA TB and organ Composed August 1881; first performance in St Paul's Cathedral,
3 November 1881 by London Church Choir Association

If ye then be risen with Christ (Easter anthem) Bible 1883 Boosey, 1883 SA TB and organ Composed January I 883

Two Short Anthems: 37 Bible c. I 885 Novello, 1889 SA TB and organ Composed about 1885; published in Novello 'Short Anthem' series
(i) And I saw anothet:.angel (for All Saints)
(ii) If thou shalt confess (forSt Andrew's Day or general use)

Blessed are the Dead (funeral motet) Bible 1886 Novello, 1886 SA TB unaccompanied Composed Jan/Feb 1886; first sung at Henry Bradshaw's funeral in
King's College Chapel, Cambridge, 5 February 1886

The Lord is my Shepherd (anthem) Bible 1886 Novello, 1886 SATB and organ Composed May I 886

311
Title of work Opus Text source (if known) Date Publisher Scoring/instrumentation Further comments

Three Latin Motets: 38 c.l888-90 Boosey, 1905 Composed c.l889 for Trinity College, and used as 'Introits';
(i) Justorum animae Bible SATB/divisions unaccompanied dedicated io Alan Gray and the Trinity College Choir
(ii) Coelos ascendit bodie Bible SSAA TTBB unaccompanied
(iii) Beati quorum via Latin hymn SSATBB unaccompanied

Morning, Communion and Evening Service in F 36 Book of Common Prayer c.l889 Novello, 1889 SATB/divisions; optional organ Composed c.l889; parts performed at Trinity College, Nov 1889

Why seek ye the living among the dead? (anthem) Bible c.l890 Free Church Hymn Book SA TB and organ Composed c.1890, published 1890 in FCHB, part 2, no.86

Communion Service in G 46 Book of Common Prayer 1892 Novello, 1893 SATB soli, SA TB and organ Adaptation of the composer's MassinG, for Anglican liturgical use

I heard a voice from heaven (funeral motet) Bible early 1896 Novello, 1910 S solo, SATB unaccompanied A re-working of Blessed are the Dead, first sung at Lord Leighton's
funeral, St Paul's Cathedral, 3 February 1896

Morning, Communion and Evening Service in G 81 Book of Common Prayer c.i900? Houghton, c.l903-5; S/Bar soli, SA TB and organ Exact year of composition unknown; dedicated to Sir George Martin;
Stainer & Bell from 1912 Evening Service scored for 1907 Three Choirs Festival

The Lord of Might (anthem) 83 R. Heber 1903 Boosey, 1903 SA TB, orchestra and organ Commissioned for the Festival of the Sons of Clergy, St Paul's
Cathedral, 13 May 1903; edition for choir and organ published

Arise, shine, for thy light is come (Christmas anthem) Bible c.l905 Houghton, 1905 SATB and organ Exact year of composition unknown
Stainer & Bell from 1912

Magnificat and Nunc Dirnittis on Gregorian Tones 98 Book of Common Prayer c.l900? Houghton, 1907 SA TB and organ Te Deum, Benedictus and Communion Service composed later(?)
Stainer& Bell from 1912 and published in 1921 by Stainer & Bell

Sing unto God, 0 ye kingdoms Bible c.l908 Broadbent & Son, c.1908 SATB and organ

0 living will (motet) A. Tennyson c.l908 Stainer & Bell, !908 SATB and organ Dedicated to Walter Parratt

For all the Saints (choral hymn) Bishop W. How 1908 Stainer & Bell, !908 SA TB and organ The hymn tune 'Engelberg'

Six Hymns (or Chorales) to follow the Six Bible Songs: 113 c.l909 Stainer & Bell, 1909-10 SA TB and organ To be performed with the associated Bible Songs for solo baritone
(i) Let us with a gladsome mind John Milton and organ, or separately as short anthems
(ii) Purest and highest Latin hymn
(iii) In Thee is gladness Lindemann tr. Winkworth
(iv) Pray that Jerusalem Scottish Psalter
(v) Praise to the Lord J. Neander
(vi) 0, for a closer walk with God W. Cowper

Morning, Communion and Evening Service inC 115 Book of Common Prayer c.l909 Stainer & Bell, !909 SA TB and organ Te Deum scored (brass/timpani) and Evening Service scored (full
orchestra) 191 0

Benedictus qui venit; Agnus Dei in F Book of Common Prayer c. I 909 Stainer & Bell, 1909 SA TB and organ These and the following settings (in B flat) were written in response
to liturgical changes which required the inclusion of these texts
Benedictus qui venit; Agnus Dei in B flat Book of Common Prayer c.l909 Stainer & Bell, 1910 SA TB and organ (formerly omitted); Stanford's intention seems to have been to
provide settings which could be used in conjunction with any of
his Communion Services ·

312
 >;,"

Title of work Opus Text source (if known) Date Publisher Scoring/instrumentation Further comments

Come, ye thankful people, come (Harvest anthem) 120 H. Alford 1910 Stainer & Bel~ 1911 SATB and organ Composed in May 191 0

Ye choirs of new Jerusalem (Easter anthem) 123 StFulberttr. R.Campbell1910 Stainer & Bell, 1911 SATB and organ Composed in December 1910

Festal Communion Service in B flat 128 Book of Common Prayer 191 0-11 Stainer & Bell, 1911-12 SATB, orchestra and organ Gloria in excelsis composed December 1910 and first sung at the
Coronation of George V, 22 June 1911; rest of Service
published 1912

St Patrick's Breastplate (choral hymn) - St Patrick tr. C.F. Alexander 1912 Stainer& Bell, 1913 SATB and organ A free arrangement, with different treatment for each verse; scored
for organ, brass, side drum and cymbals, 1912

Blessed City, heav'nly Salem 134 Latin hymn tr. J.M. Neale 1913 Stainer & Bel~ 1913 SATB and organ Composed in January 1913

Three Motets: 135 1913 Stainer & Bell, 1913

(i) Ye holy angels bright Richard Baxter Feb. 1913 SSAA TTBB unaccompanied Choral variations on Darwall's 148'\ f.p. Gloucester, 11 Sept.J913
(ii) Eternal Father Who didst all create Robert Bridges Mar. 1913 SSATBB unaccompanied
(iii) Glorious and powerful God Anon Easter !913 SA TB unaccompanied

Thanksgiving Te Deum 143 Book of Common Prayer 1914 Stainer & Bell, 1914 SATB/divisions, brass/timpani or organ Organ score 1914; Brass/timpani score published 1915; the 'thanks-
giving' intended is unclear (see Rodmell Stanford, 286)

For lo, I raise up (anthem) 145 Bible 1914 Stainer & Bell, 1939 S solo, SA TB/divisions and organ

Aviators Hymn (choral hymn) - A.C. Ainger(from Ps 104)1917 Stainer & Bell, 1917 SATB and organ

Lighten our darkness (anthem) Book of Common Prayer 1918 RSCM,2002 SA TB and organ Composed 3 March 1918 for W. Parratt and the Choir of
StGeorge's Chapel, Windsor

Magnificat (Latin) 164 Bible 1918 Boosey, 1919 SSAA TTBB unaccompanied Completed September 1918; dedicated to Parry ln memoriam

Mass in D minor 169 Latin Mass ? unpublished Date of composition unknown; autograph missing

Mass 176 Latin Mass ? unpublished Date of composition unknown; autograph missing

Mass Latin Mass ? unpublished SSAATTBB Performed 4 August 1920 in Westminster Cathedral, Lcndon;
autograph missing
Morning Service in G (for congregation or small choir) - Book of Common Prayer ? Stainer & Bell, c.1921 Unison voices and organ

Veni creator spiritus (choral hymn) Latin hymn, tr. J. eosin 1922 Stainer & Bell, 1922 SATB soli, SATB and organ Completed 15 April 1922 for the wedding of Katharine McEwen

Three Anthems: 192 1922 Novello, 1923

(i) Lc! he comes with clouds descending (Advent) C. Wesley SATB and organ
(ii) While shepherds watched their flocks (Christmas) N. Tate B so loiS A TB and organ
(iii) Jesus Christ is risen today (Easter) Lyra Davi.dica SSAATTBB and organ

Morning, Communion and Evening Service in D Book of Common Prayer c.l923 OUP, 1923 Unison voices and organ

How beauteous are their feet (anthem for Saints' Days) - I. Watts c.l923 Novello, 1923 SA TB and organ

313
Title of work Opus Text source (if known) Date Publisher Scoring/instrumentation Further comments

When God of old came down from Heav'n (anthem for Wbitsuntide) J. Keble c.l923 Stainer & Bel~ 1923 SATB and organ

The earth is the Lord's (anthem) Bible c. I 923 Stainer & Bell, 1924 SATB and organ

Be merciful unto me (anthem) Bible ? Stainer & Bell, 1928 SATB and organ

How long wilt thou forget me? (anthem) Bible ? Stainer & Bell, 1928 SATB and organ

Offertory Sentences Book of Common Prayer ? Stainer & BelL I 930 SA TB and organ

l(b) Carols and Miscellaneous Church Music

The Saints of God (hymn tune) 1888 Jenkinson Collection, 1923 SATB and organ

Fairest Scene of all Creation (hymn tune) Canon Neville 1893 Novello, 1893 SA TB and organ Written for the Royal Wedding, July 1893

As with gladness men of old (hymn tune) W. Chatterton Dix c.l894 Novello, 1894 SA TB and organ

0 Praise God in his Hoiiness (chant setting) Psalm 150 c.1909 Novello, 1909 SATB and organ

A Carol of the Nativity A. C. Coxe c.l909 Daily Express/Houghton, 1909; SA TB and organ
Novello from 1913

Once in Bethlehem of Judah (carol) C.F. Alexander c.1911 Morgan & Scott, 1911 SS and organ Included in Carols Ancient and Modem, Book 2

There came a little Child to earth (carol) E.E.S. Elliott c.1911 Morgan & Scott, 1911 SA TB and organ Included in Carols Ancient and Modern, Book I

In the Snow (carol) K.W. Lundie c.1912 Elkin Matthews, !912; SA TB and organ
also Morgan & Scott, 1912 Included in Carols Ancient and Modern, Book 3

Various Hymn Accompaniments c.l912 Wm. Clowes &Son, 1912 Included in Varied Harmonies for Organ Accompaniment . . of
certain tunes in Ancient & Modern

But lo! There breaks a yet more glorious day (hymn) Bishop W. How c.1914 Hodder & Stoughton. 1914 Also published in Daily Telegraph, Daily Sketch & Glasgow Herald

l(c) Hymn Tunes (in alphabetical order)

Airedale Hymns A & M, 1904

Alverstone ditto

314
Title of work Opus Text source (if known) Date Publisher Scoring/instrumentation Further comments

Blackrock ditto

Christiana The Church Hymnal, I 874

Consolation The Methodist Hymn Book, I 904

Deirdre (Irish air) The English Hymnal, 1906

Engelberg Hymns A & M, 1904

Fanad Head (Irish air) The Church Hymnal, 1936

Fitzroy Hymns A & M, 1915

Gartan (Irish air) Hymns A & M, 1916

Geronimo Hymns A & M, I 904

Glencolumbkill (Irish air) The Church Hymnal, 1936

Holland Hymns A & M, 1904

Joldwynds ditto

Luard 1891 ditto

Mol ville (Irish air) The Church Hymnal, 1936

Ockley Hymns A & M, 1904

Orient 1894 The Methodist Hymn Book, 1904

Remember the Poor (Irish air) The Church Hymnal, 1936

St Basil the Great Hymns A & M, 1916

St Columba (Irish air) The English Hymnal, 1906

St Patrick's Breastplate (Irish air) ditto

Stanford The Church Hymnal, 1873

315
 \;;•

l(d) Larger scale sacred works intended primarily for concert performance

Title of work Opus Text source (if known) Date Publisher Scoring/instrumentation Further comments

The Resurrection (Die Auferstehung) (An Easter Hymn) F. Klopstock 1874 Chappell, 1881; T solo, chorus & orchestra (organ ad lib) Inscribed 'In memoriam C.LA.H., Sept.21, 1874; first performed
tr. C. Winkworth also Ditson (Boston)? 1878 Cambridge, 21 May 1875; revised 1876

God is our hope and strength (Psalm 46)(Cantata in 5 movements) 8 Bible 1875 Novello, 1877 SA TB soli, chorus, orchestra & organ Completed in Leipzig, 27 May 1875; dedicated to CUMS and first
performed by them, 22 May 1877

The Three Holy Children (Oratorio in two parts) 22 Bible 1885 Stanley Lucas, 1885; SA TB soli, chorus & orchestra Completed I 0 February 1885; first performed at Birmingham
3"' edn. Boosey, 1899 Festiva~ 28 August 1885

0 Praise the Lord of Heaven (Psalm 150) 27 Bible 1887 Forsyth Brothers, 188 7 S solo, chorus, orchestra & organ Composed March 1887; first performed at the official opening of
the Manchester Exhibition, 3 May 1887

Eden (Oratorio in three acts) 40 R. Bridges 1890 Novello, 1891 Six soloists, chorus & orchestra Completed December 1890; first performed at the Birmingham
Festiva~ 7 October 1891, cond. H. Richter

Mass in G (Latin) 46 Latin Mass 1892 Novello, 1893 SA TB soli, chorus & orchestra Completed 22 October 1892; dedicated to Thomas Wingham; f.p.
Brompton Oratory, London, 26 May 1893

Requiem (Latin) 63 Latin Requiem Mass 1896 Boosey, 1897 SATB soli, chorus & orchestra Completed I September 1896; dedicated to Lord Leighton; f.p. at
Birmingham Festival, 6 October 1897, cond. Stanford

Te Deum (Latin) 66 Latin text 1897 Boosey, 1898 SA TB soli, chorus & orchestra Completed 30 January 1897; dedicated to Queen Victoria; fp. at
Leeds Festival, 6 October 1898

Stabat Mater (A Symphonic Cantata in 5 movements) 96 attrib. J. di Todi 1906 Boosey, 1907 SATB soli, chorus & orchestra Completed 15 March 1906; f.p. at Leeds Festival, I 0 October 1907

Ave Atque Vale (Choral Ovenure) 114 Bible 1908 Stainer & Bell, 1909 Chorus & orchestra Completed 31 December 1908; dedicated to Haydn & Tennyson;
f.p. by Bach Choir at Queen's Hall, London, 2 March 1909

Mass 'Via Victrix' 1914-1918 173 Latin Mass 1919 Boosey, 1920 SA TB soli, chorus, orchestra & organ Completed 14 December 1919; Gloria performed in a special
concert in King's College Chapel, Cambridge, 15 March 1920;
no record found of a complete performance

2(a) Secular choral works with orchestra

The Golden Legend (Cantata) H.W. Longfellow 1875 unpublished Incomplete and unperformed; autograph dated 29 January 1875

Three Cavalier Songs (first version) 17 R. Browning 1880 Boosey, 1882 Bar. solo, male chorus & piano Composed 1880; f.p. (complete) CUMS Concert, Cambridge,
22 March 1882

Three Cavalier Songs (second version) 17 R. Browning 1893 Bar. solo, male chorus & orchestra Completed 5 August 1893; fp. Bach Choir, 8 May 1894

316
Title of work Opus Text source (if known) Date Publisher Scoring/instrumentation Further comments

Elegiac Ode (President Lincoln's Burial Hymn) 21 W. Whitman 1884 Stanley Lucas, !884; S!Bar soli, chorus & orchestra Completed July 1884; f.p. at Norwich Festival, 15 October 1884
reprinted by Boosey, I 900

The Revenge (Ballad) 24 A. Tennyson 1886 Novello, 1886 (vocal sc.) Chorus & orchestra Completed 11 January 1886; f.p. at Leeds Festival, 14 October I 886
1887 (full score)

Carmen Saeculare (Ode) 26 A. Tennyson 1887 Novello, 1887? Chorus & orchestra Completed 4 February I 887; dedicated to Queen Victoria; f.p.
(private) at Buckingham Palace, I I May 1887

The Voyage ofMae!dune (Ballad in 10 sections) 34 A. Tennyson 1889 Novello, I 889 SA TB soli, chorus & orchestra Completed 1 May 1889; dedicated to Tennyson; f.p. at Leeds
Festival, 11 October 1889

The Battle of the Baltic (Ballad) 41 T. Campbell 1891 Novello, 1891 Chorus & orchestra Completed 11 January 1891; dedicated to George Grove; f.p.
StJames's Hall, London, 20 July 1891, cond. H. Richter

Installation Ode (Latin) - A. Verrall I892 Clay & Sons, I 892 Chorus & orchestra Written for the Installation of the Vice-Chancellor (Spencer C.
Cavendish), Cambridge University, I I June 1892

The Bard (A Pindaric Ode) 50 T. Gray I892 Boosey, 1895 B solo, chorus & orchestra Completed 22 September 1892; f.p. Cardiff Festival.
I 9 September 1895

East to West (Ode in 3 movements) 52 A.C. Swinburne 1893 Novello, 1893 Chorus & orchestra Completed 14 January 1893; dedicated to The President and People
of the United States; fp. Royal Albert Hall, London, 10 May
1893, cond. J. Barnby

Phaudrig Crohoore (Irish Ballad) 62 J. Sheridan Le Fanu 1895 Boosey, 1896 Chorus & orchestra Completed 2 July 1895; dedicated to William Le Fanu; f.p. at
Norwich Festival, 9 October I 896

Our Enemies Have Fallen (Choral Song) 68 A. Tennyson 1898/9 Boosey, 1898 Chorus & orchestra No.8 from A Cycle of Songs_from 'The Princess'; scored I 5 March
I 899; perf. by RCM chorus & arch., Buckingham Palace, 30
June 1899, cond. W. Parratt

Last Post (Choral Song) 75 W.E. Henley 1899 Boosey, 1900 Chorus & orchestra Completed 15 May 1899; f.p. (private) at Buckingham Palace,
25 June 1900

Songs of the Sea (Solo songs with optional chorus) 91 H. Newbolt 1904 Boosey, 1904 (vocal sc.); Bar. solo, male chorus & orchestra Composed March 1904; f.p. Leeds Festival, 7 October 1904
1905 (full score)

Song to the Soul (Choral Song) 97b W. Whitman 1913 unpublished Chorus & orchestra Composed I May 1913; unperformed

Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington 100 A. Tennyson 1907 Boosey, 1907 S/Bar sol~ chorus & orchestra Completed I 0 February 1907; dedicated to Hallam Tennyson;
f.p. at Bristol Festival, 14 October 1908

Choric Ode - J.H. Skrine 1907 unpublished Chorus & orchestra Completed 2 June 1907; f.p. Bath, 19 July I 909, cond. A. E. New

Ode to Discord: A Chimerical Bombination in Four Bursts - C.L. Graves 1908 Boosey, I 909 S/Bar soli, chorus & orchestra Completed 6 January 1908; f.p. Queen's Hall, London, 9 June 1909,
(optional organ & hydrophone) cond. L. Ronald

317
 't.f

Title of work Opus Text source (if known) Date Publisber Scoring/instrumentation Furtber comments

A Welcome Song 107 Duke of Argyll 1908 Boosey, I 908 Chorus & orchestra Completed I 0 March 1908; f.p. Franco-British Exhibition,
Shepherd's Bush, London, 14 May 1908

Songs of the Fleet (Solo songs with mixed chorus) 117 H. Newbolt 1910 Stainer & Bell, 1910 Bar. solo, chorus & orchestra Completed January 1910, f.p. Leeds Festival, 13 October 1910

Fairy Day: Three Idylls for Female Chorus 131 W. Allingham 1912 Stainer& Bell, 1913 Female chorus & small orchestra Completed 6 November 1912; dedicated to the St Cecilia Society of
New York and their conductor Victor Harris; Fairy Dawn (no. I)
performed at Trinity College of Music, London, 25 March 1920

Merlin and the Gleam (Cantata with Epilogue) 172 A. Tennyson 1919 Stainer & Bell, 1920 Bar. solo, chorus & orchestra Completed August 1919; dedicated to H. Plunket Greene;
f.p. Alexandra Palace Choral Society, London, 6 March 1920

At the Abbey Gate (Choral Song) 177 C.J. Darling 1920 Boosey, 1921 Bar. solo, chorus & orchestra Composed November 1920; f.p. Royal Albert Hall, London,
5 March 1921

2(b) Part-songs and Madrigals (not exhaustive)

How beautiful is night 1870 unpublished SSA & piano

To Chloris E. Waller c.1873 ?, 1873 & 1893; SA TB unaccompanied

E. Donajowski, 1900

Six Part-Songs 33 c.l889 unpublished SA TB unaccompanied

Four Part-Songs: 47 July 1892 Novello, 1892 SA TB unaccompanied

(i) Soft, soft wind C. Kingsley
(ii) Sing heigh-ho! C. Kingsley
(iii) Airly Beacon C. Kingsley
(iv) The Knight's Tomb S.T. Coleridge

Six Elizabethan Pastorals (Set I): 49 Aug 1892 Novello, 1892 SATB unaccompanied Dedicated to Sir Walter Parratt
(i) To his flocks
(ii) Corydon. arise!
(iii) Diaphenia
(iv) Sweet love for me
(v) Damon's Passion
(vi) Phoebe

Peace, come away A. Tennyson 1892 Novello, 1892 SA TB unaccompanied Dedicated to Tennyson In Memoriam; dated 11 October 1892

Six Elizabethan Pastorals (Set ll): 53 Oct 1893 Novello, 1894 SATB unaccompanied Dedicated to Charles Harford Lloyd
(i) On a hill there grows a flower N. Breton
(ii) Like desert woods E. Dyer?
(iii) Praised be Diana
(iv) Cupid and Rosalind T. Lodge

318
 '>;!

Title of work Opus Text source (if known) Date Publisher Scoring/instrumentation Further comments

(v) 0 shady vales T. Lodge

(vi) The Shepherd Doran's Jig R. Greene

Six Elizabethan Pastorals (Set III): 67 1897 Boosey, 1897 SATB unaccompanied Dedicated to Lionel Benson and the Magpie Madrigal Society
(i) A Carol for Christmas E. Bolton
(ii) The Shepherd's Anthem M. Drayton
(iii) Shall we go dance? N. Breton
(iv) Love in Prayers N. Breton
(v) Of Disdainful Daphne M.N. Howell
(vi) Love's Fire E. Dyer (or T. Lodge)

A Cycle of Nine Quartets from The Princess: 68 A. Tennyson 1897 Boosey, 1898 SATB &piano
(i) As thro' the land
(ii) Sweet and low
(iii) The splendour falls
(iv) Tears, idle tears
(v) 0 swallow, swallow
(vi) Thy voice is heard
(vii) Home they brought her warrior dead
(<iii) Our enemies have fallen
(ix) Ask me no more

Out in the windy west - A.C. Benson 1898 ?, 1899 SA TTBB unaccompanied Published in Choral Songs in Honour of Queen Victoria

Hush, sweet lute T. Moore ? Augener?, 1898; TTBB unaccompanied

repr. Augener, 1929

Six Irish Folksongs: 78 T. Moore c.\901 Boosey, 1901 SATB unaccompanied

(i) Oh! breathe not his name
(ii) What the bee is tO the flow'ret
(iii) At the mid hour of night
(iv) The sword of Erin
(v) It is not the tear
(<i) Oh, the sight entrancing

God and the Universe 97/2 A. Tennyson 1906 Boosey, 1906 SATB/divisions unaccompanied An arrangement of the second of the Songs of Faith

Eleven Two-Part Songs various ?, 1893-1907 SA &piano

Four Part Songs for Male Voices: 106 1908 Stainer & Bel~ 1911 TTBB unaccompanied
(i) Autumn Leaves C. Dickens
(ii) Love's Folly Anon. c.1600
(iii) To his flocks H. Constable
(iv) Fair Phyllis 'J.G.' c.1600

The Shepherd's Sirena M. Drayton c.l909 Year Book Press, 1909 Two voices & piano

319
Title of work Opus Text source (if known) Date Publisher Scoring/instrumentation Further comments

Four Part Songs: 110 c.1910 Stainer & Bell, 1910 SA TB unaccompanied Heraclitus (no.4) also published as a solo song; all4 songs also
(i) Valentine's Day C. Kingsley published in arrangements for SSAA ( 191 0)
(ii) Dirge W. Cory
(iii) The Fairies W. Cory
(iv) Heraclitus W. Cory

Three Part Songs: 111 c.1908 Curwen, 1908 SATB unaccompanied

(i) A Lover's Ditty
(ii) The Praise of Spring
(iii) The Patient Lover

Eight Part Songs: 119 Mary Coleridge 1910 Stainer & Bell, 1910 SA TB unaccompanied
(i) The Witch
(ii) Farewell, my Joy
(iii) The Blue Bird
(iv) The Train
(v) The Inkbottle
(vi) The Swallow
(vii) Chillingham
(viii) My heart in Thine

Eight Part Songs: 127 Mary Coleridge 1911 Stainer & Bell, 1912 SATB unaccompanied
(i) Plighted
(ii) Veneta
(iii) When Mary thro' the garden went
(iv) The Haven
(v) The Guest
(vi) Larghetto
(vii) Wilderspin
(viii) To a Tree

My Land T.O. Davis May 1911 Year Book Press, 1911 SA &piano

The Angler's Song John Chalkhill May 1911 Year Book Press, 1911 SATB unaccompanied

Lullaby F.D. Sherman c.1913 Stainer & Bell, 1913 SS &piano

Off for (to) the Cruise F.G. Watts 1913 Stainer & Bell, 19 I 3 SATB. unaccompanied

Six Songs for Two Sopranos: 138 c.1914 Curwen, 1914 SS & piano
(i) A Welcome Song Herrick
(ii) To Music Herrick
(iii) Autumn Shelley
(iv) The Chase Rowley

320
 ~:<

Title of work Opus Text source (if knowo) Date Publisher Scoring/instrumentation Further comments

(v) Meg Merriiies Keats

(vi) Oh, sweet content Dekker

On Time 142 J. Milton May 1914 Stainer& Bell, 1914 SSAA TTBB unaccompanied Dedicated to the Bristol Madrigal Society

Ten Part Songs 156 c.l917 unpublished SATB unaccompanied

On windy way when morning breaks - J. Rundall 1917 Year Book Press, I 91 7 SSA & piano (ad lib.)

Sailing Song - Eliza Cook c.i917 Year Book Press, i 91 7 SS & piano (ad lib.)

The rose upon my balcony - W .M. Thackeray c.l918 ?, 1918 SS & piano Published in series of 'Singing Class Music' (no.l03),
ed. T.F. Dunhill

The Haymaker's Roundelay Anon. c.l918 ?, 1918 SS & piano ditto (no.104)

Claribel - Tennyson c.l918 ?, 1918 SA&piano ditto (no.! 05)

A Carol of Bells LN. Parker c.l917 Enoch, 1919 SA TB unaccompanied Arrangement of solo song; performed by the Royal Choral Society,
London, 24 November 1917

Acrostic Ode to Old Comrades - C.E. Stredwick c.1920 unpublished A TBB unaccompanied

Flittermice J. Rundall c.1922 Year Book Press, 1922 SS & piano

The Valley P. MacGill 1922 Year Book Press, 1922 SA TB unaccompanied

Two Old Irish Melodies: - A.P. Graves c.l922 Boosey, I 922 SATB unaccompanied Arrangements of traditional solo songs
(i) My love's an arbutus
(ii) The Foggy Dew

Blow, winds, blow - Anon. c.1922 Year Book Press, 1922 SSA & piano

The Border Harp - W.H. Ogilvie c.l922 Year Book Press, 1922 SSA unaccompanied

Allen-a-Dale - W. Scott c.l922 Year Book Press, 1922 SSA & piano or 2 violins

Shadow Dancers - W.H. Ogilvie c.l922 Year Book Press, 1922 SSA & piano or 2 violins

Six Irish Airs: T. Moore c.1922 Curwen, 1922 SA TB unaccompanied Arrangements of traditional soia songs
(il Oh for the swords
(ii) How dear to me the hour
(iii) Quick! We have but a second
(iv) They know not my heart
(v) Lay his sword by his side
(vi) My gentle harp

My gentle harp - T. Moore c.l922 ?, 1922 SA TB unaccompanied Arrangement of traditional solo song

321
 ,,

Title of work Opus Text source {if known) Date Publisher Scoring/instrumentation Further comments

The Peaceful Western Wind T. Campion c.l923 OUP, 1923 SSA&piano

Virtue G. Herbert c.l923 OUP,l923 SA& piano

The Morris Dance Traditional 1923 Cramer, 1923 SA TB unaccompanied

Lady May Henry Chappell c.l923 Year Book Press, 1924 SSA & piano or 2 violins

On Music T. Moore c.1923 Year Book Press, 1924 SATB unaccompanied Arrangement of traditional solo song

Four Part Songs: A.P. Graves ? Boosey, I 928 ATBB unaccompanied

(i) Battle Hymn
(i i) One Sunday after Mass
(iii) The Royal Hunt
(iv) StMary's Bells

2(c) Unison songs (not exhaustive)

Carrnen Familiare: Sanctae Trinitatis Collegii A.W. Verrall 1888 MacMillan & Bowes, 1888 Performed at a 'Smoking Concert', Trinity College, Cambridge,
7 June 1888

A Carol A. T. Quiller-Couch c.I893 Casse 11, 189 3 Dedicated to Frank Robinson

Summer's Rain and Wmter's Snow R.W. Gilder c.1893 Novello, I 893

Worship J.G. Whittier c.l893 ?, 1893

The Flag of Union A. Austin c.l893 Novello, I 893

Britons, guard your own A. Tennyson c.l908 unpublished?

The British Tars J. Hogg c.l908 Year Book Press, 1909

The Invitation A. Macy c.l913 Stainer & Bell, 1913

Ulster W. Wallace 1913 Stainer & Bell, I 913

Dirge of Ancient Britons M. Sykes !9I4 unpub fished?

A Berserker's Song M. Sykes 1914 unpublished?

Three Songs for Kookoorookoo and Other Songs C. Rossetti c.l916 Year Book Press, 1916

The Sea King B. Cornwall c.l922 Year Book Press. 1922

322
Title of work Opus Text source (if known) Date Publisher Scoring/instrumentation Furtber comments

Fineen the Rover R.D. Joyce c.l923 Year Book Press, 1923

Answer to a Child's QUestion S. Taylor Coleridge c.l923 OUP, 1923

The Winter Storms W. D'Avenant c.l923 OUP, 1923

Wishes W. Allingham c.l923 OUP, 1923

A Runnable Stag J. Davidson c.l923 Cramer, 1923

Satyr's Song J. Fletcher c.l923 Cramer, 1923

Songs from the Elfin Pedlar (in two books) Helen Douglas Adam 1923 Stainer & Bell, 1925

Coo-ee: A.Song of Australia W.H. Ogilvie ? A.W. Ridley, 1927

The Sower's Song Carlyle ? Cramer, 1927

323
 \,;

Appendix III

LIST OF NEWSPAPERS/JOURNALS
With details of Editors and Critics*
*The identities of critics are often highly elusive, due mainly to the sheer quantity, during the period in question, of unsigned reviews and articles. The information gathered here is drawn
largely from Christopher Kent's two articles in the Victorian Periodicals Review (see Bibliography), augmented by occasional other sources and by personal observation.

Journal Editors (where known) Dates Critics (where known) Appointment Dates

Athenaeum Charles Dilke 1830-46 Henry F. Chorley music critic 1833-68

T.K. Hervey 1846-52 Campbell Clarke music critic 1868-70

Hepworth Dixon 1853-69 Charles Gruneisen music critic 1870-79

John Doran 1869-71 Ebenezer Prout music critic 1879-89

Norman MacColl 1871-1900 Henry Frost assistant music critic to Prout; ? - 1889
music critic 1889-98

Vem on Rendall 1901-16 John Shedlock music critic 1898-1916

Bimtingham Daily Gazette Thomas Anderton music critic ?-?

Andrew Deakin music critic 1876-94

Birmingham Daily Post Stephen Stratton music critic 1877-1906

Ernest Newman music critic 1906-19

(William Roberts)

A.J. Sheldon music critic 1919-31

Dai(r Chro11icle H.W. Massingharn 1890-? Henry Coates music critic c.l909

324
Journal Editors (where known) Dates Critics (where known) Appointment Dates

Daily Graphic Charles L. Graves music critic 1870s

Richard Streatfeild music critic 1898-1912

Philip Page music critic 1910-1913?

Ernest Newman music critic 1923-6?

Daily News Henry J. Lincoln music critic 1866-86

Percival Betts assistant music critic to Lincoln;

music critic 1886-?

Edward Baughan music critic 1902-12

? Graham music critic c.1909

F. Gilbert Webb assistant music critic ? -?

Alfred Kalisch assistant music critic to Baughan;

music critic 1912-33?

Daily Telegraph Campbell Clarke music critic 1855?-70

Joseph Bennett music critic 1870-1906

L. W. Thomas music critic in Bennett's absence 1884-5

Robin Legge music critic 1906-31

Ernest Kuhe assistant music critic c.1890s-1930s

William Kingston assistant music critic c.1909

Herbert Hughes assistant music critic 1911-32

325
Journal Editors (where known) Dates Critics (where known) Appointment Dates

Examiner William Minto 1874-78 Hermann Klein music critic 1878-80

Fortnightly Review Frank Harris 1886-94 Vernon Blackburn music critic 1893-1907

William Courtney 1894-1928

Graphic James Davison music critic 1874-85

Joseph Bennett music critic 1870s-1906

Percival Betts music critic after 1884

C.L. Cleaver music critic c.l909

Manchester Guardian George Fremantle music critic 1867-95

J.A. Fuller Maitland London music critic 1884-89

Arthur Johnstone music critic 1896-1904

Ernest Newman music critic 1905-6

Samuel Langford music critic 1906-27

Neville Cardus assistant music critic 1917-27

Month{v Musical Record Ebenezer Prout 1871-4 Ebenezer Prout music critic 1871-4

Charles A. Barry 1874-6 Charles A. Barry music critic 1874-6

John Shedlock 1900s William A. Barrett music critic ? -?

326
 ·; .. '

Journal Editors (where known) Dates Critics (where known) Appointment Dates

Morning Post William A. Barrett music critic I 867-91

Henry S. Edwards frequent music contributor ? -?

Arthur Hervey music critic 1892-1908

Francis E. Barrett assistant music critic 1891-1908

music critic 1908-?

Fabian Ware ? -1911 J .H. Dickens music critic c.!909

H.A. Gwynne 1911-37 William McNaught assistant music critic 1908-18

Musical News Thomas L. Southgate 1891-? Thomas L. Southgate music critic 1891-?

Edwin H. Turpin 1891-? Edwin H. Turpin music critic 1891-?

Musical Standard Thomas L. Southgate c.1868-73 Thomas L. Southgate music critic c.!868-73

Edwin H. Turpin 1880-86 Edwin H. Turpin music critic 1880-86

Edward Baughan music critic 1909-?

Musical Times Henry Lunn 1863-87 HenryLunn music critic for provincial Festivals c.1863-87

Joseph Bennett frequent contributor I 870s-1906

Charles L. Graves occasional contributor ?-?

William Barrett 1887-91 William Barrett music critic 1887-91

Edgar F. Jacques 1891-97 Edgar F. Jacques music critic 1891-97

Frederick G. Edwards 1897-1909 Frederick G. Edwards music critic 1897-1909

William G. McNaught 1910-1918 William G. McNaught music critic 1910-1918

327
 '.{..

Journal Editors (where known) Dates Critics (where known) Appointment Dates

Musical World James W. Davison 1843-85 James W. Davison music critic 1843-85

Joseph Bennett (assistant ed.) 1880s Joseph Bennett frequent contributor 1880s

Francis Hueffer 1886-88 Francis Hueffer music critic 1886-88

Edgar F. Jacques 1888-91 Edgar F. Jacques music critic 1888-91

Pall Mall Gazette Frederick Greenwood 1865-80 J.A. Fuller Maitland music critic 1880-84

John Morley 1880-83 Hugh R. Haweis music critic 1884-?

William Stead 1883-90 Charles L. Graves occasional contributor ? -?

E.T. Cook 1890- Vernon Blackburn music critic 1893-1907

Nicholas Gatty music critic c.1909

Saturday Review Walter Pollock 1883-94 William Barclay Squire music critic 1888-94

Frank Harris 1894-98 John Runciman music critic 1894-1916

Standard William Mudford 1874-99 Henry Frost music critic 1888-1901

Byron Curtis 1900-?

328
 '·(

Journal Editors (where known) Dates Critics (where known) Appointment Dates

Times James Davison music critic 1846-78

Thomas Chenery 1877-84 Francis Hueffer music critic 1878-89

George Buckle 1884- J.A. Fuller Maitland music critic 1889-1911

Robin Legge assistant music critic 1891-1906

HenryS. Edwards occasional music critic ? - 1906

Henry C. Colles assistant music critic 1905-11

music critic 1911-43

A.H. Fox-Strangways assistant music critic 1911-25

World Louis Engel music critic 1890s

George Bernard Shaw music critic 1888-94

Robert Hichens music critic 1894-c.1897

Alfred Kalisch music critic 1899-1912

Yorkshire Post Charles Pebody 1886-? Herbert Thompson music critic 1886-1936

3:20
 330

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- - - 'Some Present Aspects of Music II', Musical Times, April 1898, 230-2.
---'Some Present Aspects of Music III', Musical Times, May 1898,303-5.
---'Some Present Aspects ofMusic IV', Musical Times, June 1898,374-6.
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(July- December 1894), 530-6.
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Music and Letters, vol.5 no.3, July 1924, 195-6.
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9 May 1903, 443-4.
Burrows, Donald: 'Victorian Music', The Late Romantic Era, ed. J. Samson
(Macmillan, London 1991).
Calvocoressi, Michael D.: 'Can Musical Criticism be Taught?', Musical Times, May
1911,300-302.
Davidson, M.L.: 'The Press and Music', Musical News, 28 October 1893, 373-4.
Davies, Henry Walford: [No separate title], 'Charles Villiers Stanford by some ofhis
Pupils', Music and Letters, vol.5 no.3, July 1924, 194-5.
Dibble, Jeremy: 'Stanford's Service in B flat, Op.IO, and the Choir of Trinity College,
Cambridge', Irish Musical Studies, 2 (Dublin 1993),129-48.
 334

- - - 'An Eclectic Playground: Style and genre in Stanford's church music',

Church Music Quarterly (RSCM), March 2002, 9-12 and June 2002, 15-17.
Dunhill, Thomas F.: [No separate title], 'Charles Villiers Stanford by some of his
Pupils', Music and Letters, vol.5 no.3, July 1924, 205-6.
- - - 'Charles Villiers Stanford: Some Aspects ofhis Work and Influence',
Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, 1926-7.
Dyson, George: [No separate title], 'Charles Villiers Stanford by some of his Pupils',
Music and Letters, vol.5 no.3, July 1924, 196-8.
Finney, Theodore M.: 'The Oratorio and Cantata Market: Britain, Germany, America',
Choral Music, ed. Arthur Jacobs (Penguin, London 1963), 217-30.
Friskin, James: [No separate title], 'Charles Villiers Stanford by some of his Pupils',
Music and Letters, vol.5 no.3, July 1924, 205.
Gatty, Nicholas C.: [No separate title], 'Charles Villiers Stanford by some of his
Pupils', Music and Letters, vol.5 no.3, July 1924, 199-200.
Gurney, Edmund: 'On Music and Music Criticism', The Nineteenth Century, July 1878,
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Gurney, Ivor B.: [No separate title], 'Charles Villiers Stanford by some of his Pupils',
Music and Letters, vol.5 no.3, July 1924, 200.
Hervey, Arthur: 'Concerning Musical Criticism', Musical Times, June 1911, 373-5.
Heseltine, Philip: 'Some Reflections on Modem Musical Criticism', Musical Times,
October 1913, 652-4.
Heward, Leslie: [No separate title], 'Charles Villiers Stanford by some of his Pupils',
Music and Letters, vol.5 no.3, July 1924,201-3.
Howells, Herbert: [No separate title], 'Charles Villiers Stanford by some ofhis Pupils',
Music and Letters, vol.5 no.3, July 1924, 199.
'Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924): An Address at his Centenary',
Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, 11 December 1952.
Ireland, John: [No separate title], 'Charles Villers Stanford by some of his Pupils',
Music and Letters, vol.5 no.3, July 1924, 195.
Kent, Christopher: 'Periodical Critics of Drama, Music and Art, 1830-1914: a
Preliminary List', Victorian Periodicals Review, xiii (1980), 31-55.
'More Critics of Drama, Music and Art', Victorian Periodicals Review, xix,
(1986), 99-105.
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Ley, Henry G.: [No separate title], 'Charles Villiers Stanford by some of his Pupils',
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vol.LXXX (1901), 734-48.
- - - ' A School for Music Critics', Musical Times, January 1911, 16-17.
Nicholson, Sydney H.: [No separate title], 'Charles Villiers Stanford by some ofhis
Pupils', Music and Letters, vol.5 no.3, July 1924, 203-4.
O'Connell, Kevin: 'Stanford and the Gods of Modern Music', Musical Times,
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Parry, Charles Hubert: 'The Essentials of Church Music', Musical Times, December
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---'The Meaning ofUgliness', Musical Times, August 1911,507-11.
Rainbow, Bernarr: 'Music in Education', The Blackwell History ofMusic in
 335

Britain, vol.5, The Romantic Age 1800-1914, ed. N. Temperley (Blackwell,

Oxford 1988), 29-45.
'Parochial and Nonconformist Church Music', ibid., 144-67.
Reid, Charles: 'Britain from Stanford to Vaughan Williams', Choral Music, ed. Arthur
Jacobs (Penguin, London 1963), 266-85.
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(July- December 1894), 170-83.
- - - ' A Popular Cantata', Saturday Review, 26 January 1895, 124-6.
---'Dr Parry's "King Saul"', Saturday Review, 16 February 1895,218-9.
- - - 'Joachim and the Popular Concerts', Saturday Review, 9 March 1895, 315.
---'Dr Stanford's New Symphony', Saturday Review, 30 March 1895,410-11.
---'The Bach Festival' (1), Saturday Review, 13 April1895, 475-6.
---'The Bach Festival' (2), Saturday Review, 29 April1895, 506-7.
- - - 'English Conductors and German Capellmeisters', Saturday Review, 4 May
1895, 578-9.
---'English Music and English Criticism', Saturday Review, 26 October 1895,
542-3.
---'Advertising Musicians', Saturday Review, 23 November 1895, 683-4.
---"'The Rose of Sharon" at Norwich Festival', Saturday Review, 10 October
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- - - 'English Music in the Nineteenth Century', Saturday Review, 13 January 1900,
45-6.
---'Schools ofMusic', Saturday Review, 8 October 1904,455-7.
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1910,465-8.
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Association, 1880-1, London 1881.
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(1886-7), 400-407.
- - - 'Mr Hubert Parry's "Judith"', Fortnightly Review, vol.44 (1888), 537-45.
---'Verdi's "Falstaff", Fortnightly Review, vol.53 (1893), 445-53.
---'Some Aspects of Musical Criticism in England', Fortnightly Review, vol.55
(1894), 826-31.
---'Sir Charles Villiers Stanford on Poetry & Music', Musical News, 6 April
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Temperley, Nicholas: 'Birmingham', New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
(Macmillan, London, 1980).
'Cathedral Music', The Blackwell History of Music in Britain, vol.5,
The Romantic Age 1800-1914, ed. N. Temperley (Blackwell, Oxford 1988),
171-213.
'Xenophilia in British Musical History', Nineteenth-Century
British Music Studies, vol.1, ed. B. Zon (Ashgate, Aldershot 1999), 3-19.
'Norwich', New Grove Dictionary (London, 2001), vol.18, 68-9.
Thompson, Herbert: 'The Hovingham Festival', Musical Times, November 1903,
739-41.
Vaughan Williams, Ralph: [No separate title], 'Charles Villiers Stanford by some ofhis
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 336

Newspapers and journals providing review material

Athenaeum 1878-1911
Birmingham Daily Gazette 1885-1906
Birmingham Daily Mail 1885-1897
Birmingham Daily Post 1885-1906
Cambridge Chronicle 1875-1920
Cambridge Daily News 1920
Cambridge Express 1898
Cambridge Review 1880-1924
The Choir 1912-1924
Church Musician 1891-1894
Church Times 1881
Daily Chronicle 1891-1913
Daily Graphic 1891-1909
Daily News 1881-1911
Daily Telegraph 1881-1924
Examiner 1877
Graphic 1884-1907
Guardian 1880-1891
Hazell's Annual 1885-1919
Leeds Mercury 1886-1910
Manchester Guardian 1887-1908
Monthly Musical Record 1877-1911
Morning Post 1884-1913
Musical News 1891-1920
Musical Opinion 1885-1925, 1940
Musical Standard 1880-1891
Musical Times 1877-1929, 1940
Musical World 1877-1890
Organist and Choirmaster 1899
Pall Mall Gazette 1881-1913
Saturday Review 1884-1897
The Times 1884-1924
World 1891-1893
Year's Music 1896-1900
Yorkshire Post 1886-1911